How Much I Got Paid In My First 3 Years on YouTube

A YouTube channel can be a great way to monetize and grow your business, but how long does it actually take to start gaining some real traction and making money?

6 months? A year? Or will you be sporting a full head of gray and a set of dentures by the time you make your first dollar?

When I started my YouTube channel in 2019 it was primarily to build an email list and I had no idea if I’d ever actually turn it into an income stream unto itself—let alone how to hit those big, drool-worthy money milestones other YouTubers seemed to effortlessly achieve.

After plenty of trial and error (with extra emphasis on “error”) I finally figured out how YouTube could help me reach my ideal customers and grow my business, all while generating a nice revenue stream on the side. 

In this video, I’m yanking back the curtain on my YouTube channel to give you a sneak peek behind the scenes.

I’ll show you:

👉 my content strategy and posting schedule

👉 how long it took to start making money 

👉 how much I’m making (and with how many subscribers)

👉 my year-over-year subscriber and revenue growth rates (yup, the real numbers!)

👉 my top tips for anyone starting a YouTube channel

..and more! 

You can watch the video or read on for the main points. 

(This post contains affiliate links, which means—at zero cost to you—I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!)

When Did I Start My YouTube Channel?

In March of 2019 I was 100% focused on low-content publishing. I honestly never thought I’d start a YouTube channel. I’m an introverted person and don’t necessarily love being the center of attention. But I had a goal in mind—to launch a successful digital course on low-content publishing—and I knew a YouTube channel would be the best way to reach my ideal customers. 

When I started my channel, I used just my laptop camera and natural light from a window in my house. No fancy studio, backdrops, lighting, or camera. 

My Content Strategy and Posting Schedule

From the very beginning I was very niched down on low-content publishing, and I think this helped my channel gain traction. It wasn’t until I had developed a following in that niche that I expanded into more general online business content. 

I’m also very consistent in posting. From the beginning I’ve posted one video a week. To save time, I batch my content, meaning that I create several videos at a time and release one per week. 

Back then, each video took several hours to put together. I was doing everything myself—from scripting to editing to making graphics. Oh, and did I mention that I had a one-year-old at home? It was a juggling act, but I was determined to make it work. 

Even though my thumbnails totally sucked (I used the same one over and over again), I had to get over my perfectionism and keep pushing forward. 

How Long It Took Me To Monetize My YouTube Channel

To be eligible for monetization, YouTube requires a channel to have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watchtime hours. It took me about five months to hit 1,000 subscribers and about six months to accumulate 4,000 hours of watch time. I had around 1,539 subscribers when I began to monetize my channel. 

Once you meet these requirements you can start earning money through various ad formats such as:

• watch page ads
• YouTube Premium
• fan funding

Getting monetized happened fairly quickly for me due to my narrow niche and consistent posting schedule. Since monetization, I have earned $50,164.51 from watch page ads and $590.22 from YouTube Premium.

Here’s a breakdown of all the details:

YouTube Monetization Format	Income Details (% of YouTube Income and $)
Watch Page Ads (video and static)	98.8% ($50,164.51)
YouTube Premium	1.2% ($590.22)
Fan Funding (Super Thanks)	0.0% ($0.85)

Here’s a breakdown of what my YouTube income looked like the first day, month, and year of being monetized, along with how many subscribers I had at each point. 

Time Frame	# of Subscribers	Watch Time (Hrs.)	Views	Income
First Day	1,539	71.1	590	$3.06
First Month	2,137	2.8k	21.6k	$307.30
First 365 Days	13,960	50.9k	4.77k	$5,195.04

It’s important to keep in mind that not all channels will make the same amount of money. Results will vary dramatically based on the channel and the niche. My channel is about helping people make money, which is a very lucrative niche. 

My Year-Over-Year Subscriber Numbers and Analysis

Here’s a breakdown of my year-over-year subscriber growth along with views and income information. You’ll notice that  in 2022 I gained fewer subscribers than in 2021, but had more views and more revenue.

Year	# of Subscribers Gained	Total Subscribers	Views	Income
2019	–	4,503	131.3k	$1058.80
2020	+11.6k	16,075	477.2k	$5,525.76
2021	+23.9k	39,962	782.5k	$16,350.51
2022	+22k	61,916	1.1 million	$26,,829.06

I believe my growth slowed down in 2022 because I started expanding my content into the “general online business’’ niche rather than only creating content for low-content publishing. Because my skills in running my own online business had expanded, I wanted to share what I was learning and didn’t want to feel boxed into only creating low-content publishing content. 

Two things happened when I started creating content outside of the low-content publishing niche:

1. People who were already subscribed to my channel because they were interested in low-content publishing may not have been as interested in learning more about online business topics such as affiliate marketing, starting a course, etc., so my views declined.
2. The YouTube algorithm probably wasn’t sure what to do with the new content I was creating in the general online business niche because it was different from what I had published up to that point. As a result, my content wasn’t being shown to as many viewers as it had been when I was more niched down. 

My current monthly revenue averages around $2k per month. My best month so far was February 2022, when I earned $3,546.59. 

My Most Popular Videos

It’s important to understand what content is resonating with your viewers so that you can double-down on that and create similar content. 

Here are my top five most popular videos (in order of most views): 

Video	Views	Watch Hours	Subscribers Gained	$ Earned
How to Create a Coloring Book From Scratch	382.8k	39.5k	+10.9k	$1058.80
What I Earned My First Year of LCP	135.2k	11.7k	+5.8k	$2,845.80
LCPA Student Success Story	97k	20.3k	+2.7k	$2,989.97
How to Create a Weekly Planner in Affinity Publisher	79.9K	12.5K	+1.2K	$1,121.00
Top 5 Book Cover Design Mistakes	77.4K	9.0K	+1.6K	$1,616.35

My Least Popular Videos

Similarly, it’s important to understand what content is not resonating with your viewers so that you don’t waste your precious time and energy creating something that no one is looking for. 

Here are three of my least popular videos:

Video	Views
Q&A Thursdays (2 live FB videos that I posted)	1k-15k views for each
How to Get Publicity For Your Brand and Business	1.1k
How I Balance My Career and Being a Mom:	1.2k

Here are a few other significant subscriber milestones you may be interested in:

Date	Subscribers
May 2020	10,000
April 2022	50,000
Current (Feb 2023)	67,777

6 Tips For New YouTubers

If you came up to me at a party and told me you were thinking of starting a YouTube channel, here are six  tips I’d share with you based on everything I’ve learned on my own YouTube journey so far.

1. Stick To Your Niche

This sounds a bit contrary to what I’ve said about my own expansion into the online business niche, but when you’re just starting out it’s important for Google to know what your channel is about so it can start serving it up to the right people. 

Sure, it might take some experimenting in the beginning, but once you find what works, double down on it. If you try to talk about too many different topics, your growth will slow down faster than a snail on a lazy Sunday. 

Stick to two to three related topics and don’t veer too far off. That way, your audience knows what to expect and you can establish yourself as an expert in your field. Keep it focused and watch your content soar!

2. Be Consistent 

Want to know the secret to building a loyal following? It’s all about being consistent with your content. That’s right—if you want to keep your viewers coming back for more, you need to create a schedule and stick to it. 

For me, the key to staying consistent has been batching. Batching means setting aside a chunk of time to create multiple videos at once. Doing this helps me stay ahead of schedule and avoid that dreaded last-minute scramble to put out content. 

Plus, it’s a great way to get in the zone and really focus on creating quality content. Grab some snacks, put on your favorite playlist, and start batching those videos! Your viewers will thank you for it.

3. Be Prepared to SUCK! 

Here’s some real talk for you: your first 50 videos are more than likely going to SUCK!  The good news is, that’s OK! In fact, it’s totally normal. 

When you’re just starting out, it can take some time to find your voice and figure out what works for your channel. Don’t be too hard on yourself if your first few videos don’t exactly go viral. Give yourself some grace and remember that every video is a chance to learn and improve. 

Who knows, you might even look back on those first 50 videos and laugh at how far you’ve come. So, keep creating, keep learning, and most importantly, keep having fun!

4. Don’t Rely on YouTube for a Full-Time Income

Unless you’re a young person with no real bills to pay, it’s probably not a good idea to rely on YouTube for full-time income right away. Don’t worry, though, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible! 

Building a successful YouTube channel takes time and effort, and it’s important to be realistic about your expectations. Treat your YouTube revenue as a bonus for now, and keep working hard to grow your channel. With time and dedication, you might just be able to turn your passion into a full-time gig!

5. Leverage YouTube as a Lead Generator

One of the best things about YouTube is its potential as a lead generator and a way to grow your email list. Think about it—your viewers are already interested in your niche and your content. That makes them prime candidates for becoming part of your email list and potentially even your customers or clients! 

Just be sure you’re including calls-to-action in your videos, encouraging viewers to subscribe to your channel and join your email list by downloading your freebie (lead magnet). 

By consistently delivering value and engaging with your viewers, you can turn your YouTube channel into a powerful tool for lead generation and list building.

6. Be Patient

If you’re feeling discouraged because your channel isn’t growing as quickly as you’d like, take a deep breath and remind yourself that success doesn’t happen overnight. Building a successful YouTube channel requires consistent effort, dedication, and a willingness to learn and improve over time. 

It’s normal to feel frustrated or impatient, but try to focus on the progress you’ve made so far and the small wins along the way. And remember, even the most successful YouTubers started at zero subscribers once upon a time. If you need to, bookmark this article and revisit it to remind yourself that growth happens over time. 

Keep creating, keep learning, and don’t give up! With persistence and determination, you can achieve your goals and create a channel that you’re truly proud of.

What’s Next for My Channel

First things first, if you’re here for the low-content publishing videos, rest assured that I’ll still be bringing you plenty of those, including more success stories from my Low-Content Profits Academy students.

In addition, I’m going to continue to branch out and talk about some other topics that I’m really passionate about, like building a successful online business, digital course creation, online marketing, and more. 

I know that sticking to just one niche would make my channel grow faster, but I don’t want to feel trapped by that. There’s so much more that I want to share with you all, and I hope you’ll stick around to see it. Even if my growth slows down for a bit, I’m committed to creating valuable content that you can benefit from. 

If you’re an aspiring online entrepreneur and you feel like you could use a little help mapping out your first steps to building a business, download my free guide, “The 4 Step No Time to Waste Online Business Start-Up Blueprint.”

You’re also invited to join my free Facebook group, Rachel’s Sandbox.