technology Making Money on Youtube: Things You Need to Know

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

Hey guys, Carbon Maestro here, and today I'm a youtuber that'll give you a brief but necessary rundown on what you need to make your money bits! There are those who want to throw money at you (Your fans) and those who want to take your money (i.e. Multichannel networks like Machinima, or Youtube's Adsense) and hopefully you can navigate the dangers of such things!

 

As a Youtuber partner myself making about $240-$300 a month on 60,000 views partnered with a network, I want to let you know that not ALL Youtube channel networks are created equal. Let's start with the basics on terminology.

 

Know these terms before moving on:

• CPM - cost per thousand (CPT) (in Latin mille, which is thousand), usually used as a measurement for advertising money.
• MCN - Multi-channel networks. An organization that works with YouTube channels, which can offer money/copyright protection in exchange for a percentage of ad revenue.

If you calculated my CPM above from $240-$300 for about 60000 views, you'll find that my CPM is around $4-$5. This is the average amount that you should be getting for thousand views.

 

Now there are two ways that multichannel networks give you money. There's

• flat rates of MCNs giving you $4 for every 1000 views
• A Monthly percentage, whether it's 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40 (You/MCN).

Note that with any money making deal, there's a contract. You'll find that some contracts last indefinitely, some 7 years, some 5, and some even 1 year. Make sure you know the length of your contract, because once you signed, there's no going back.

 

Alright, sounds fine and dandy, so long as you meet the requirements of the Youtuber Partnership, right?

 

Well, this is where you have to be careful. MCNs are EVIL. Like, evil enchantresses but if you're poor, a necessary evil.

 

I realized that other topic about a brony song being taken down was because of the MCN Hasbro EST flagged it for copyright.

 

No seriously, the terms that I see nowadays are pretty unfair if you're a Youtuber trying to make money. The thing is that you need to realize that the MCNs give much poorer terms than ever.

 

Back in 2011, MCNs were giving $4 CPMs for new partners. Nowadays? I see these these turkeys giving $0.35 CPMs for new youtubers. Beware of those guys who put you on a 60/40 revenue share contract and give horrible CPMs for 5 years. 

 

I can't recommend any single partnership network, but I can say which ones to avoid:

Machinima - AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Perpetual contracts that lock you in unfair 60/40 deals for life are a big no.

Maker Studios - Try and avoid this one.

Any MCN that offers a 60/40 and/or 5 year deals.

 

Here's a short summary of what you should do:

Join an MCN that has 70/30 or better.

Look for an MCN that is transparent and tells you everything without hiding anything.

Shorter 1-2 year deals. This gives you flexibility on networks.

Only JOIN a network if you want advertisements and make a little cash every month (In the beginning, it's not much, but with time, diligence, and mostly luck, you'll make more).

Realize that in order to make a living off of Youtube, you pretty much need to have 60,000 views A DAY and even then, CPMs have to over $4 to mean something.

 

(Psssst, I've heard Curse is the best network of the bunch!)

 

Sadly, if you're about to sign that $0.35 CPM contract for 5 years, don't. Avoid that. If you have any questions or if you're confused at what MCN you want to join, feel free to ask!

Edited August 27, 2014 by Carbon Maestro