I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey to give you an update on my Wakizashi’s Teahouse YouTube Channel. On Christmas Eve last year, I reached the fabled 1K subscribers after working on my channel for 18 months. I’d already passed the second requirement of “4000 public watch hours” that you need in order to be considered for the “YouTube Partner Program.” My channel was “checked” by (possibly) a human being and I got monetized a few days later. Great! I could sit back, relax and watch the money pour in. That’s how it works, right?
Insider Knowledge from a Small YouTuber
Well, the truth is you actually make pennies or cents from the ad revenue on your videos. Unless you are regularly getting tens or hundreds of thousands of views. I don’t know what the average is per thousand views, but it sure ain’t enough to retire on. However, I am a very small channel so my personal experience is limited. Admittedly it is still very nice to be making a couple of bucks a month off content that was previously only making money for YouTube. I could make a little bit more if I wanted to, but I’m limiting the ads on my videos.
You get the option to choose “skippable” and “non-skippable” ads, as well as where to place the ads. I can’t stand “non-skippable” ads nor ads that run “in the middle” of a video, so I don’t activate those options. But listen to this. YouTube wants you to switch on all the options. Here’s how I found out. I had a sudden surge in views on one specific video over the last two weeks. On my YouTube Studio page, a message appeared suggesting I switch on all ad options to “maximize your revenue from this video.” I just ignored it. Is an extra fifty cents worth all the annoyed viewers who have to wait for the ads to finish? Nope.
There are two other ways to make money from your YouTube Channel. Please subscribe to my channel and I will tell you. For a single comment on one of my videos, I’ll also reveal the secret to eternal life! Nah, I’m just kidding.
The way most people make some pocket money from their channel is from “Superchats” and “Memberships.” A superchat is a tip viewers can send you when you are doing a “Livestream.” (Livestreams are live videos on which viewers can comment or even join if they are sent a link). This tip can be any amount and will highlight the viewers message or comment in your video’s “Live Chat.” On some of the BIG channels I watch, I have seen people sending in anything from 99 cents to two hundred dollars as a tip.
“Memberships” are self-explanatory. A viewer can “join” your channel for a small sum which is paid monthly. For this, they get virtual “member badges” that appear by their name on comments and in live chats. They also get “exclusive emoji” that the YouTuber has to design and upload. Additionally, each YouTuber can add “perks” for their member level(s). For example, one popular perk is a members-only livestream which only channel members can join. Another perk is to release members-only videos, nowhere near as “nudge nudge, wink wink” as it sounds. This is YouTube, not OnlyFans!
The best thing I’ve got from YouTubing is new friends from all over the world. Seriously, the social side of it has been unexpectedly brilliant. It is a great way to meet new people who may or may not share your interests. Sometimes when I am doing a livestream with a few buddies, it feels like hanging out at a cafe or down the pub. My virtual social life.
So, that’s been my YouTube experience so far. Thanks so much for reading!
-Wakizashi, *thinking about what movie to review on “Gray’s Moving Picture House” this weekend. Last weekend we did AKIRA (1988). It was so enjoyable just nerding out with three friends over that masterpiece of Japanese animation.*
Wakizashi's Reviews 
Glad you are exploring all the options. How do adblockers affect things?
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That’s a good question, mate. I’ve no idea. But I have heard from friends who have been YouTubing for a while that the money from Ads has dropped significantly over the last few years.
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Think I’ve watched your channel since you started and been awesome to see what you’ve done with it. Great work! Really love how you cover things. Missed a few of recent streams but I try and catch them when I can, love all chats about comic old and new – especially the oder stuff for us old-school comic fans! 🙂
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Paul, your support has been brilliant, thank you. I really appreciate every comment you leave. It’s always nice to get a true comic book fan’s thoughts on the issues I review. I watch a lot of comic book livestreams, too. The Thinking Critical Saturday Livestream is one of my current faves. I’ve also joined Weird Science DC Comics’ Patreon and I love their content. Do you watch the weekly “Off the Rack” show on ComicPop Returns? Sal & Tiffany are always good to listen to.
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More than welcome. You have done such great work on your channel. Always fun to debate comic book views with you. Yeah, I like TC channel as well, although then debates can get a bit heated sometimes for my liking. I’ve heard about Comic Pop, will have to check it out.
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OMG, YouTubers can choose whether they want non-skippable ads? I thought content creators had no control over that. My respect for every YouTuber that has non-skippable ads just dropped dramatically. Good for you to keep that shit away. That will bring you more viewers in the long run, I think.
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I know right? Me too. I didn’t realize you could pick and choose, within limits of course. Thanks for reading, mate.
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Good luck, Wakizashi! I watch your channel less than I should, but tbh I don’t watch YT at all these days (maybe except for some nerdy coding videos with tips on how to solve some programming problems) 😉 It’s not easy, and I feel that if you really wanted to make money off it you’d have to devote a huge chunk of your life to creating and uploading content and maintaining the relationships with your audience members – like a full-time job, really. So, hats off to you for making it work as a hobby!
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Thanks Ola. And don’t worry about watching. I wrote this post because a couple of fellow bloggers were asking how it was going. I just wanted to let people know how some of it works. I didn’t mention how long it actually takes to prove your identity, set up the payment process, fill in the tax forms, etc, and all the other things you have to do to get your fifty cents. Who wants to read about that?!😉
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Good to see your content on Youtube, and you are enjoying it.
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Thank you. It has been a really interesting experience and I am enjoying it now.
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An interesting read. Found it odd no mention of Patreon? Its a significant source of income for some youtubers. And for some even tneir primary income bigger thsn and ads or memberships. Its fairly likely yt memberships exist because of the success of patreon.
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Thanks for reading. Patreon hasn’t worked for me yet. I support a really good comics podcast on it, and see the potential of it. But I’m focused on YT at the moment. I appreciate your suggestion though.
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