Expand Summary
The “Days We Spend” YouTube channel has earned approximately $5,131.20 from 1.3 million views over two years, demonstrating that while YouTube can be a source of income, it is not a quick path to financial independence and requires dedication beyond monetary gain.
Abstract
The creators of “Days We Spend,” a YouTube channel documenting travel and lifestyle topics, have shared insights into their earnings from the platform. Despite achieving significant viewership, with one viral video earning over 2,700, the channel's total revenue remains modest at 5,131.20 over two years. This underscores the reality that YouTube ad revenue alone is not a lucrative income source for most content creators. The channel’s average monthly earnings in 2023 were $191.81, with their most popular video contributing significantly to their revenue. The creators emphasize that while YouTube can supplement income, it should not be the sole reason for starting a channel. Instead, they advocate for the value of community building, storytelling, and personal growth that YouTube offers.
Opinions
- Starting a YouTube channel is worth the effort for reasons beyond monetary gain, such as community engagement and personal fulfillment.
- YouTube’s Partner Program has become more accessible, but earning significant money remains challenging.
- The potential to establish authority, learn video production, and explore affiliate marketing makes YouTube a valuable platform for content creators.
- The algorithm’s mystery is manageable by consistently producing helpful content and understanding audience preferences.
- The creators believe in the intrinsic value of their work and the connections made through their channel, which they consider more important than the revenue generated.
- The channel’s earnings, while not substantial, have been a welcome addition to their income, especially while living abroad in Spain.
- The creators are optimistic about future growth and aim to increase their monthly earnings while prioritizing content quality and audience engagement over chasing higher view counts for profit.
Don’t start a YouTube channel if your only goal is to make money.
It’s not worth it.
Even with a semi-viral video (the most popular video has around 780,000 views currently), the ad revenue isn’t enough to let you quit your job and make videos full-time. At least not for a while.
But that doesn’t mean YouTube is a waste of time. Far from it.
In this article, I’m going to share how much ad revenue we’ve earned in the past two years from our YouTube channel — Days We Spend — and what monetizing a YouTube channel actually looks like so you can decide if starting a YouTube channel is the right move for you.
Because, spoiler alert — starting a YouTube channel is 100% worth the effort — even if you don’t earn much money.
So let’s dive in.
Here’s how much money we’ve earned from a YouTube channel with 1.3 million views and why we’re excited to keep making videos in 2024.
How much money can you earn from a viral YouTube video?
In September 2019, my wife and I uploaded our first YouTube to share our around-the-world trip with friends and family. And for a while, that’s all our channel was.
We uploaded a few videos, got a few hundred views, and earned zero dollars.
But that changed in December 2021 when we shared a video about how we converted our Honda Element into a Micro Camper.
Because the video kind of took off.
This one video has earned over $2,700, gained 5,700 followers, and is still our most popular video two years later. We still earn around $50 a month (more when the algorithm picks it up).
But even with a popular video, our channel still took 18 months of (semi-regular) uploads to hit 1 million channel views.
And our lifetime channel earnings are still just $5,131.20 over the past 2+ years. Not exactly enough to live on.
Luckily, it’s not our only successful video.
How much can you earn from a YouTube video with 50,000 views?
Not every video has to go viral to earn you money. Several of our other travel videos have 50–75k views and several have earned over $300 in YouTube ad revenue.
This video about San Sebastian is chugging right along at 73k views, and nearly $400 in lifetime earnings. That’s nothing crazy, but it’s out there right now, working for us.
And knowing that each video will continue to earn over its lifetime provides a great incentive to keep growing our brand.
But what about the rest of our YouTube channel? How much do we earn from our other videos?
How much does a channel with +10,000 YouTube subscribers earn each month?
In 2023, on average, we earned $191 a month from our YouTube channel, Days We Spend.
And I think that’s great for a channel with 12k subscribers.
Here are some other channel revenue stats for context:
- Total lifetime ad revenue (as of Dec 4, 2023): $5,131.20
- Average monthly earnings 2023: $191.81 ($2,301.75 for last 12 months)
- Highest earning video: $2,734.50 (Honda Element Micro Camper)
- Average earnings (for top 50 videos): $96.39 per video
- Average earnings (for top 49 videos): $41.89 per video (not counting our #1 video)
- Average earning per 1,000 views: $3.94
We’re experimenting with YouTube Shorts, but we’ve earned a whopping $0.38 so far, so I’m not holding my breath for YouTube Shorts to generate much revenue.
But that’s not the point.
I’m sharing our earnings so you know what to expect if you start a YouTube channel. The YouTube Partner Program has lowered its monetization requirements, but that doesn’t mean earning money from YouTube videos is easy.
If the only reason you start a YouTube channel is to make money, you’re going to be disappointed. Because YouTube ad revenue is a terrible way to earn money.
The good news is that YouTube is still a great way to build a community, start a business, or establish yourself in your niche.
And that’s what we’re all about.
Why we’re sticking with YouTube
We’re still a small channel, so earning any ad revenue from our uploads is a win. But it’s not why we make videos.
That graph shows that we’re connecting with people interested in what we have to say about our three main topics — affordable van life, living in Spain, and walking the Camino de Santiago.
And that’s huge.
It’s nice to have a few hundred bucks coming in each month — and I hope we can grow that number to $500/month this year.
But we’re never going to make videos just for the earning potential.
Because our endgame is to tell stories and build a community we love, not squeeze a few extra dollars out of our content.
Is it still worth it to start a YouTube channel in 2024?
The short answer is — absolutely.
You don’t need to get 1 million views or earn thousands of dollars each month to be successful on YouTube. You can grow your audience, establish authority, and learn what works in real time while earning a little extra cash.
We’ve learned a ton about storytelling, video production, and affiliate marketing along the way. And that extra couple hundred a month has been very welcome as we navigate living in Spain full-time.
I love that we’ve earned nearly $3,000 from a video on the internet. But the best part isn’t the revenue. It’s been connecting with hundreds of people who liked our ideas enough to build a micro campervan.
If our channel disappeared tomorrow, I’d still feel like it was worth it.
You are probably not going to earn much money during your first year on YouTube unless you market the heck out of yourself, produce top-tier content, find the perfect niche, or just get super lucky.
And that’s ok.
The YouTube algorithm — while mysterious — isn’t complicated. If you make videos that help people and publish on a semi-regular basis, your channel will grow. And as you grow, you’ll improve your craft and discover what your audience wants to watch.
And that’s a lot more valuable than a few hundred bucks each month.