Like many, watching YouTube is a big part of my day-to-day life. An estimated that nearly 30 million people watch videos on the media site DAILY. Not to mention, there are about 1.3 billion users in total. I am not currently a content creator, but consume plenty to understand enough of how the behind the scenes of YouTube work. This includes monetization of videos and how it is affected. Because of the knowledge I have on this particular subject, I am here to tell you, don’t skip the ads.
Firstly, let’s address something obvious. YouTube is a free service that anyone can access. This access is available any time of day, as long as there is some connection to the internet. YouTube being free means, that without outside structure providing it, the people who do create content start out doing so for free. Without sponsorships (once again from outside vendors), an advertisement may be the only revenue they turn it. YouTube then takes nearly half of what all AdSense is brought in by that creator. YouTuber’s receive 55% of the money that companies pay out for advertising on the site. Meaning, for every $1 of work (assuming no other income is present), creators only see $.55, and YouTube sees the other $.45/$1. However, when the ad is not watched to its entirety or the skip button is pressed, the company is not required to pay out the money to pay. Meaning, even if someone watches the video many times and ten ads are on the video, the creator may make $0 off of those views.
Now, I get that YouTube is not usually a single source of income. Some people can do it, but building one’s YouTube to the point of that is EXPENSIVE. Many times, people with a higher quality of videos have dished out thousands before earning it back. Cameras, microphones, lights, filming spaces, editing tools. It can all add up quickly. Not only are the materials for that level of quality expensive, but don’t forget the time that goes into it. One of my favorite YouTubers, Sierra Schultzzie, has talked many times on her vlog channel about one video taking her upwards of 15 hours just to edit. This time does not include the time spent recording, shopping, and preparing. Time is worth money. Putting effort into a passion deserves to be recognized. YouTube is not all about money for many people, but when they are spending so much to get nothing in return is CRAZY. YouTube can open doors for many opportunities, but until it does, ad revenue may be all someone has between not being able to produce their videos and having access to doing so.
Please do not get me wrong; I see ads that are anywhere from 20-60 minutes longs. I do not watch every single ad that comes across my screen. If I genuinely do not want to support someone and their values but want to gain the information, I will usually skip an ad. But, if I am consistently watching people’s videos and want to support them, I let the 60 seconds of ads roll. I keep the 2 minutes rolling. I do so because I know that I am helping to continue the content that I love by doing so with just my time. In the same realm of, “Don’t eat out if you aren’t going to tip,” “Don’t watch YouTube videos if you are not willing to watch short ads.” Now ask, if you spent upwards of 15, 20, even more than 25 hours on one single project, and all that stood in the way of earning money from your work and not was 30 seconds, what would you do?
Feature Photo courtesy of https://www.youtube.com/user/YouTube/videos?app=desktop
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