Have you ever wondered, “Can YouTube make you rich?” Or maybe, “How does YouTube pay for views?” If so, your not alone. There’s clearly a lot of people out there creating content. But how many of them get rich making YouTube videos? Before I answer that question, let me tell you a bit about how RedMeatLover.com and our YouTube video recipes channel began.
The beginning….and the end!
I started Red Meat Lover as a concept back in 2007. It was the result of many hours with friends in the backyard, beers, and bbq. A name was born and idea was slowly hatching. At this time, I never considered can Youtube make you rich? It was just some rough idea with a fun name. However, one night (after a couple bourbons), I began wondering about how I could share everything we learned with a wider audience? After staying up nearly all-night, I mapped out RedMeatLover.com on a couple sheets of legal paper. It felt good but it was only words, it meant nothing….I had to bring it to life! So, I attempted to build a website…
But since I didn’t know anything about building websites the experiment didn’t go far before I was frustrated and quit….TWICE! But the vision of Red Meat Lover never died…..
One More Try
In 2015 I thought I would give it another try, a last chance effort before I wrote it off for good. This time, I decided to hire Brandon of Unify Creative Agency to build a foundation for the site. He taught me how to build what I needed and off I went posting my recipes and, in hindsight, some pretty bad pictures (see photo):
And I was spending a LOT of time learning about the back end of the website which I found mostly confusing. It’s easy enough to create a post….MUCH harder to format correctly, take quality photos, and create engaging content.
New Partnership, New Website….and Video Recipes?
Brandon and I stayed in touch over the years and, in 2017, we began discussing the idea of partnering on the site. In October 2017, we re-launched a new site and created the Youtube channel for our video recipes. Here is the FIRST video recipe we posted: Porterhouse Steak in a Cast Iron Skillet Recipe which has over 38,000 views as of March 2018. What started as a man on a mission now consists of a team of over 5 people strong, working together on THIS site….wow!
In addition to building the site, we’ve been posting video recipes on YouTube for over a year and a half. All of us have full time jobs and time is limited. The agreement was to post 1 video recipes / month and we have kept on-track with that schedule and…..
WE JUST REACHED 100,000 VIEWS!!! It’s hard to believe. It’s a bit scary. If you have watched our video recipes or subscribed to our YouTube channel, THANK YOU for all your support!!
Ok, so now let’s get to some of these other questions…
How does YouTube pay for views?
Brandon had a ton of experience behind the camera as a filmmaker and that, by default, made me the guy in front of it….yikes! I never set out to be in Youtube videos but I thought “B” is a pro and, if it could help the site, why not? But as we discussed the idea of making video recipes we wondered, how does YouTube pay for views? Turns out, we now know that the value / click is very very low. And getting a few thousand views is no easy task either.
Youtube recently changed its monetization model requiring a MINIMUM of 1,000 subscribers AND 240,000 minutes of watch time to qualify for video monetization. We have the watch time but only have 937 subscribers. If you’re reading this, we would appreciate your support as a subscriber. Big red button on the right, can’t miss it….only takes a second and allows us continue to deliver great content. Subscribe here: Red Meat Lover YouTube Channel.
Can you get rich making YouTube videos from just views alone?
We heard that some people do get rich making YouTube videos. However, despite research, we never got a solid answer in terms of XX views = YY dollars. There were some estimates out there for big earners but nothing solid….besides, how could we ever get to 1 million views on a vid? Easier said than done!
Many of the top earners have large audiences with millions of subscribers. And they post regularly…some even post every day. That sounds absolutely exhausting. The GRIND of filming, editing, and posting videos on the daily seems like pure torture….
However, people do this because it is MUCH easier to rack up the views as these videos populate their subscribers feeds…the more views, the more money YouTube pays. However, in addition to viewing revenue, the top earners also have valuable sponsorships that fund a large chunk of the revenue. The sponsorships are the key. The rub is that you need to build the audience before you’re likely to get any sponsors / advertisers.
Can YouTube Make You Rich? How Much Have You Earned?
If you’ve read this far, we will share all we know to answer the question, can YouTube make you rich? Before they de-monetized the channel for lack of subscribers, we earned a little over $200 total…..over 18 months. The first dollar took months to earn….it’s coming in a little quicker now with a larger library of vids.
So NO, we’re not getting rich. Hell, we’re not even covering costs…..we’re LOSING money…but we’re also having a ton of fun making video recipes!
I think 100,000 views is a BIG step. It took us a LONG time to get here…..over a year and a half. Also, planning, filming, and editing the high-quality vids we strive to deliver, takes more time than I could ever imagine. Thankfully, B handles that.
I say if you have a good idea and your passionate about it, then you owe it to yourself to give it a shot! If you want to get rich making YouTube videos, remember that the road to success is paved with poop….It’s true, google it! Like anything worth doing, it’s hard work. As Grandma says, “if it were easy, everyone would do it.” She’s a smart lady…
Go For It!
And a final note – you will need thick skin if you post videos on YouTube, as negativity is just part of social media, no matter how great the content. I’ve had some hilariously negative comments about my appearance and sexual preferences….just hit delete and move on. I don’t take it personally. Momma always said that “the best revenge is success” and, unlike my steaks, revenge is a dish best served cold.
Even though we’re most definitely, absolutely NOT getting rich(yet?), it’s all worthwhile when you hear stories of people cooking great food as a result of a video recipe that we created. That’s really the BEST PART….the POSITIVE feedback and comments with people saying that they cooked a great meal as a result of our video recipes.
Many of the great philosophers make a similar observation: Essentially, graveyards are the “richest” places in the world because that’s where people go with something left over….an idea that never was, the gift that was never given, the potential that was never reached. If you have an idea, even one with a ridiculous name like Red Meat Lover, and you think it will make YOU happy….AND add value to a community of people, then you owe it to yourself and the world to GO FOR IT!
Again, we would greatly appreciate your support via a comment below and subscribing to our YouTube channel, here: RedMeatLover
Carpe Diem! – Joey
