Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2013. The subscriber counts, view totals and yearly earnings it cites are from 2013 or earlier, with estimates apparently drawn from an August 2010 list, and are long out of date.
Many of you may have heard that some people make a lot of money on YouTube by uploading their videos, but can you really earn more than $100,000? The answer is yes, although, as in any business, we have to offer something different and become a brand.
I’ll say up front that it’s not easy at all, but here are 5 people who earn that figure from the advertising Google places alone; they probably have other income from private advertisers too.
Some of these young people get more views on their YouTube channels than many television networks. Here are 5 people who earn more than $100,000 a year from their YouTube channels.
1. Natalie Tran
Under the name CommunityChannel, she has the most-subscribed channel in all of Australia (1,256,000), ahead of any TV network or program. She is a video blogger who makes a sort of comedy series. Her channel has racked up a staggering 462 million-plus views. She earns about $130,000 a year.
Watch: What’s Your Favourite? (CommunityChannel)
2. The Young Turks
The Young Turks is the first internet-only show about politics, the economy, news and more. It started out as an idea, but today it’s proof that online shows can be profitable businesses without having to move to television. The creators of the show earn $125,000 a year.
3. Smosh
Two young guys who post comedy videos in the form of a mini-series. They have more than 9 million subscribers and their channel has more than 2 billion views. They earn around $120,000 a year.
Watch: Sleeping Pill Disaster (Smosh)
4. Mediocre Films
As the name suggests, they make mediocre films (on a very low budget). They earn more than $115,000 a year.
5. Nigahiga
This young man, who became famous for a video in which he humorously explained “how to be gangster“, has a channel with more than 8 million subscribers that has been viewed more than 1.4 billion times. His content mixes martial arts and humor, among other things. He earns over $160,000 a year.
6. Shane Dawson
This young man is by far the biggest YouTube star of the bunch. He’s so popular that he has 3 different YouTube channels, and his income is over $300,000 a year. His specialty is music video parodies, some of which are spot on. There’s no doubt he has earned his fame the hard way.
We’ll keep talking about this topic in an upcoming article, with some tips for making money on YouTube, because as we can see, it can be a great outlet for many creative people or anyone with a good sense of humor. (Read: Steps and tips for making money on YouTube and becoming the next star)
Featured image: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
