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A
Hey, if you want to start or grow a YouTube channel in 2026, we've got a brand new resource you need to know about. Starting YouTube can feel overwhelming. What camera to use, what niche to pick, what to post first. And most people quit before they even get started. That's why we created the YouTube Creator Toolkit. It's your quick start system to go from confused to confident, fast. And for a limited time, you can save big during our holiday sale or@thinkmedia sale.com you'll start with Niche Finder to get total clarity on what kind of channel you should build. Then you'll use the AI powered video topic generator so you never run out of video ideas. Plug those into Think Media's AI title system tool to craft titles that get clicks and finish with thumbnail templates and trainings so your content actually stands out. And we've even included a ticket to to our Think Media strategy briefing that's happening right at the start of January to help you lock in your entire growth plan for 2026. It's incredible. And the crazy part is, during our limited holiday sale, you can get the YouTube Creator Toolkit for less than the price of a trip to Chipotle. Just go to thinkmediasale.com to take advantage of this special offer before it expires. Okay, let's jump into the podcast.
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If you've got a small channel and you're not making money yet, even $50 a day might sound unrealistic, but it's actually way more realistic than you think. We're seeing tiny audiences hit that mark.
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People think you need millions of views to make good money on YouTube, and that's just not true.
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Not because they went viral, but because they understand a few critical things.
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What people need to understand is that the topic you choose for your YouTube channel is dramatically influences how much YouTube will pay you for views.
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By the end of this episode, the hope is you're gonna know exactly what you need to change. So you're not just getting views, but you're getting paid. Sean, tip number one here is understand the math. And this is where it all starts. And this is also where it kind of gets easier than you think.
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A
Yeah, the big myth here is that people think you need millions of views to make good money on YouTube, and that's just not true. The truth is you need the right views and you have to understand how YouTube works. So let's actually look at two different examples. How YouTube pays you and something called affiliate marketing, and how this could equal $50 per day. And so let's first talk about YouTube ads. Eventually, your channel gets monetized. So of course, you need a thousand subscribers, 4,000 hours of watch time. But the key thing to understand here is RPM, and what that means is how much YouTube pays you for 1,000 views. And so if your channel could have a $5 RPM for every 1,000 monetized views that your channel gets, then you would need 10,000 views a day to make $50 a day. Now, that's not millions of views. That's only 10,000 targeted views. But here's what's crazy. If your channel had a $10 RPM, you'd only need 5,000 views a day. A $25 RPM, you'd only need 2,000 views a day. And if you had a 5, $50 per minute. Now, that's pretty crazy. It's pretty out there, but it does exist. You'd only need 1,000 views a day. And so the big secret is not all views on YouTube pay the same. And in just a second, we're going to be talking about which topics pay the most on YouTube and how you can raise your RPM. But let's look at one other example, which would be affiliate marketing. And so, affiliate marketing is when you recommend a product or a service or a software in one of your videos. And if someone clicks your link and makes a purchase, then you get paid. And so let's say you could earn a $20 commission on something that you're recommending. You would only need three sales per day, and that would be $60 a day on YouTube. Now, that might sound crazy, but three sales a day is doable. Now consider this. If you're only making a $10 commission, and let's say there's a $20 software, a $20 service, you get 50%. All right? People watching your videos, you get maybe a few hundred, a few thousand views. But five people a day purchase that, and you get a $10 commission. Boom, $50 a day. And then let's say it's only a $5 commission. Whatever the product is you're talking about, you only need 10 sales a day. Now, before we go on to the next tip, let's look at one other example of how you could earn $1500 a month, which comes out to $50 a day from one type of affiliate program. And that is what's called sales SaaS. S a a s. Now, what does that stand for? That stands for software as a service, which is just a marketing term for saying the apps and the software that Regular people use could be budgeting apps, workout apps, recipe, photo editors, home office tools, small business tools. I understand that this doesn't apply to every channel, but this gives us the mindset needed for how accessible $50 a day is. So now let's consider if you were earning a five dol dollar commission because someone subscribed to a software, the insight is it's not just the day that someone signs up. If they stick with that software, you actually get paid every single month that their software renews. So if you were earning a five dollar commission, you would only need 300 customers total to earn 1500 dollars a month. @ that point, it's pretty close to passive income. One of the reasons you'd keep going and keep posting videos is because of course some people cancel and of course you're not going to have 300 people overnight. But once you get to $305 a month, that's 1500 dollars a month, $50 a day. Now if you could find the right software, maybe you earn a $10 commission, you only need 150 people, $20 a month, 75 people, $40 a month, which, that would be your commission. Maybe the software costs 100 bucks a month for somebody and, and Your commission is 40%. Well then you'd earn $40 every month. And again, that's gonna probably be in like marketing or small business tools. These kinds of opportunities are everywhere. And if you are earning a $40 commission a month for people that signed up for this software, you would only need 38 people total that are signed up for this. And so, Nathan, the big idea, number one is understand the math. It's easy, easier than you think. But of course, getting views and unpacking some of the other strategies are very.
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Important. A hundred percent. This is where even for me, I'm like, wow, this is where math turns into hope. You know, a lot of people assume I'm just kind of waiting for the partner program, but there's so many other avenues and levers that you can pull to get to a milestone of like $50 a day. And so we're going to continue to unpack all of these, of course. But tip number two here is kind of back on the platform side of things with YouTube. This is a pretty big unlock. Kind of changes everything, especially for smaller channels, newer channels. Sean, different niches pay different. Did you break this.
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Down? Yeah. So what people need to understand is that the topic you choose for your YouTube channel dramatically influences how much YouTube will pay you for views. And so if you talk about Topics that advertisers will pay more for. You'll earn more even if you have a small channel. So let's look at some of the lowest paying niches on YouTube. This is a usually one to $5 RPM. And this is things like gaming, comedy, entertainment and memes, vlogs, reaction content and prank channels. Now this doesn't mean you shouldn't start a YouTube channel in those niches, but if you do, you need to accept the fact that I'm going to need big views, I'm going to need to blow my channel up pretty large if I want to make significant money from YouTube views and YouTube ads alone. Now you could step up to the medium paying niches which is going to be anywhere from $5 to a $12 RPM. Remember, if you were earning a $10 RPM on the views on your videos, you only need 5,000 views a day to earn $50 a day. So what kind of channel topics will pay this much? Things like travel, food and cooking, diy, home improvement, productivity, tech reviews at a base level and and health and fitness tutorials. Consider as you kind of go up in the topics that advertisers want to pay for, the types of products they want to reach a certain audience with. You can earn a lot more, but we could go deeper. Nathan, the next one is some high paying niches. This could be $12 to $25 per 1000 views. This is going to be stuff like real estate, a higher level of tech and software tutorials, small business advice, marketing tips, parenting and education tools, home office tools, productivity software, photography and camera gear. The reason why these topics pay more is because people that are watching this content are going to be buying tools or software or equipment and advertisers know it. Keep in mind that advertisers want to put their ads on videos that are going to lead to the best customers. And so the actual topic of your channel is matters a lot. But the final one is very high paying niches, anywhere from $25 to $40 RPMs. Now this is rare, but we've seen it. We see it with our coaching students depending on what type of content they are creating. And so this is things like online business and digital marketing channels, sales training, coaching and consulting, tech automation tools, a lot of stuff in AI entrepreneur mindset, B2B software tutorials and then high ticket offers like it could be anybody that has some type of multi thousand dollar offer. That's the product the advertiser wants to sell. What kind of content do they want to advertise on? Viewers in these niches are typically business owners and they have real money to spend. So the big question viewers should ask is, what is even my channel strategy from the get go? Like, what type of channel do I want to create? If you've already married your channel topic, I just want to vlog. That's what I'm going to do. That's your choice. But if you want to reverse engineer earning bigger money, it could start at this strategic.
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Level. Sean, amidst these categories, is there anything else that someone could do to increase.
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Rpm? Yeah, it's a good question because it's not just your channel topic. The second thing you want to ask is, who is watching my videos? And here's what I mean. Advertisers will pay more to reach a baby boomer that has disposable income, has a credit card and is ready to spend money than they will to reach a teenager that you know has signed up. Maybe because their parents gave them a YouTube account, but they probably don't have a credit card and their spending power is not as high. So this could look like just who you're targeting in your videos. All the way down to if you had a video title was that was like how women in their 50s can lose weight and that woman in her 50s is going to have way more disposable income, is going to be probably predisposed to spend money on skin care, weight loss options, different things that they're thinking about. And you're actually calling the audience out in the title. Now, it's not that you actually have to call the audience out, but it's thinking about the fact that advertisers will pay more to reach people that live in first world countries in the United States or Australia or different places. Where is your audience to reach people of a certain age and of a certain income bracket? And so all of those things are strategic because your topic choice at a channel level and at a video level has everything to do with attracting a certain type of audience. And so even if you were in a quote unquote niche that is not as high paying, if you have an audience that's a little bit older or has a little bit more spending power, I mean, there's a lot of young entrepreneurs out there that are doing stuff in their 20s and starting businesses, that just means if you're starting business content, you're of course calling them out. But also, who is the individual that is watching? If you reverse engineer the content that you're creating, you can really position yourself to earn a lot more money. As well as make money with other income opportunities off of platform. Not just YouTube AdSense, but other things like affiliate marketing. And actually if people want to go deeper, we have a brand new event. We've never done this before. It's called YouTube Growth Sprint and it's entirely free and it's coming up soon. And so uh, we're going to be breaking all of this down and helping anybody that wants to start or grow a YouTube channel this year with this free online event. If you go to ytsprint. Com, we'll also put a registration link in the show notes and it's going to be fun because we're going to be covering a lot of the changes on YouTube, the recent trends algorithm updates. We're also giving away creator gear, equipment as well as software that will help you create content that is better, faster. And you're going to leave this event with a step by step growth plan. You're going to be able to get ahead of the latest changes on YouTube. And Nathan, we're going to be going deep in AI. There's so many cool things you could do with AI right now for free that'll help you make better videos faster. And so if you're serious about wanting to really grow on YouTube this year, then don't miss our YouTube growth sprint event and you can.
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Register@Ytsprint.Com. sean, I think about a really, probably maybe the biggest part of a creator's money plan right now is thinking through where your money really is coming from and actually kind of mapping that out and just being aware like on YouTube versus off YouTube. Because in reality for a lot of channels, most channels you're not even going to make most of your money from ads.
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Right? That's correct. On YouTube versus off YouTube. What does that mean? Well, on YouTube means you, you sign up for a YouTube channel, you get your channel monetized and then you are also going to be applying to Google AdSense separately. You set up an account and you connect two factor authentication. How are people gonna send you money? They're gonna wire transfer it to a bank account or to some way to get paid. And now when ads play on your videos, YouTube eventually sends you checks. And that could also include super chat and super membership, channel memberships and those types of things. So that's actually on yout and Alphabet, YouTube's parent company that also owns Google is sending you money, right? Is sending you money digitally. But off YouTube is really the big stuff. And we're actually doing a series right now. So if people are new subscribe to the Think Media podcast. We're not gonna go deep into these, but the big stuff is off of the platform. It's using YouTube to direct viewership to something different, like affiliate links or brand deals or sponsorships, or you're building your email list, your own products, your own course reoccurring software commissions, digital downloads. There's a lot of different stuff. We're gonna be covering that in a future episode. But that is the mindset.
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Shift. So already, Sean. I mean, this is like a good bit, but to just keep it real. This is probably stuff that most people who are interested in this whole creator YouTube thing, you've probably heard about.
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Before.
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What? Let's just jump into, like, give us the advanced stuff. Like, what's the stuff that nobody really knows about when it comes to making money on.
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YouTube? Yeah, that's good. I'm excited for these next two tips because this is the stuff that no one is really talking about. And tip number four is, is viewer intent Making strategic content for people that want answers. Now, what does that even mean? Well, I see the mistake that a lot of people make is they learn. Like you said, Nathan, I've heard about affiliate marketing before. I signed up for an affiliate program. I started putting affiliate links in my descriptions, but no one is purchasing anything. No one's clicking my links, even if I'm getting views. And that's because individuals don't understand viewer intent. And so the truth is this random affiliate links on like a lifestyle vlog that doesn't have any connection won't make money. The question you want to ask is what type of videos are people watching on YouTube where they basically have their credit card in their hand and they're ready to make a purchase. This is actually why if you do product tutorials or product reviews, you can make a lot more money with affiliate marketing. Now, that doesn't mean you have to do product review videos, but it illustrates the idea of intent. Now, I know this really well because on my journey, the way I was originally able to earn a six figure income as a solo creator was by doing tech reviews. And I started to make videos like Best camera for video for Beginners. And so consider somebody that clicks on that video and watches that video, what they're hoping to accomplish. They want to buy a camera. Maybe not today, but they're researching in order to make a purchase that is viewer intent. Now let's consider what the intent of someone just scrolling on YouTube shorts is, or somebody that's just watching entertainment videos. Their intent is to be Entertained. Their intent is to maybe check out their credit card is not in hand. And that doesn't mean that the introduction of a product or a service or something they could buy won't convert, but it's not their reason for being there. And so it's just much harder to actually earn money with these other ways if the intent isn't aligned. And so, Nathan, let's think about how we could illustrate this. Imagine opening up a lemonade stand in the middle of winter. Now, the truth is, lemonade is good. People love to drink it. But that's not the ideal place or time to open up the lemonade stand. People that are walking by are maybe not thirsty, they're cold, and it's the wrong vibe, it's the wrong environment. Now, I know that during summer, actually, all throughout my small town, I see lemonade stands in all kinds of corners. And not only do people want to help the kids and the teenagers that are doing it, but it's like, hot out, you're thirsty. It's right place, it's right time. That's the big idea with getting viewer intent aligned. And so the reason that people don't get good results with affiliate marketing or anything else is they're not thinking through this entire process. Nobody is coming to your video to buy anything. They might buy something, but that's not their intent for being there. The reverse is, okay, how do I create content that is aligned and have people, like, already almost to the finish line? And you just help them make an educated decision, find a product or a service they will like or want to use. And that can still tie into vlogs, it can still tie into entertainment content, but it takes a higher level of.
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Strategy. This is huge. I think this last tip is probably the sneaky secret sauce, because I would argue, I mean, totally correct me if I'm wrong, but, like, we could have done everything well up to this point and see some results for sure. But I think this single tip is the thing that can just flip a switch on conversion rates, be it on YouTube or be it off. Platform tip number five is developing some simple sales skills. Break this.
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Down. Yeah, I've never heard anybody teach this in the YouTube education space before. And so here's the big idea. When it comes to developing simple sales skills, it's not that you have to become a car salesman. You don't need to really sell, but what you do need to do is help. And here's how I learned this. You know, years ago when I started my Think Media channel, where I was talking about tech. I actually had an epiphany and I thought about myself as like, wait a minute, you know what I'm doing on YouTube? I'm like a Best Buy associate working in the camera section. And here in America, a lot of people know of the big box store Best Buy and they go down there and they're looking for a tv, they're looking for a camera. But even me starting the channel was like a passion to scratch my own itch because I've walked into many Best Buys, I've walked to the camera section and I've talked to the associates. Now I'm not trying to disparage anyone but these individuals. I've never met somebody that had an equal camera knowledge to me, right? They might have gotten hired. They're just there to like read off the card and they're like, yeah, it's got a 32 megapixel sensor, it's got, or whatever. And I think I remember once there's two different cameras that Canon makes and they've made over the years. They make like a T7 and then they make a T7I. And the big difference between that one letter was that the I was meant for video creators and it had like a mic input. And I remember, I think it was at Costco that I was talking to somebody like, hey, what camera would you recommend for YouTube? And they were like, oh, this one right here would be good. And it was just a photography based camera. And so again, that individual was under educated in actually the pain points and the needs of me being a secret shopper, not planning on buying a camera, just seeing what I could learn in this conversation at Costco. But what it revealed to me that I was like, okay, here's our responsibility on YouTube. We need to develop some sales skills. And essentially in the same way that someone would walk into a local store for skincare or supplements or cameras or tech, we have to know a couple things. And I wrote a couple things down. Number one, you need to know the products. Like you're not just winging it, you are actually like helping people. And that's good sales skills, like actually knowing the products and number two, knowing who they're best for. Because if someone just feels like you're trying to push something, that's not what you're doing. You're trying to educate to say if you're this type of person, oh, if you're going to take, in my case this camera with you outdoors into the rain and into the elements, you're going to need weatherproofing. So it's almost like you're not actually having a conversation on YouTube, but you need to simulate that you are. Like in, for example, if you were going to be hiking with this and taking this outdoors, then this is the one you would want. Oh, if you're just going to leave this set up at home, then you don't need to overspend. You actually, you know, should spend less because this camera would be adequate for you. Now, that's good sales. You're not just pushing a product, you're serving and you're helping the viewer make a good decision. Third, you're, you're asking questions and this would be that idea, Wait a minute, I can't actually ask questions. But here's what you can do. You can pre plan the frequently asked questions. You could develop greater knowledge of the product, the service, the thing that you're talking about. And the cool thing is that everybody listening to this with whatever niche they've chosen, I would argue they're already going to be great at this. They just need to learn how to turn it into videos. You're already living it. If you're doing diy, homesteading, off grid living, you're like, yeah, I worked with this one wood furnace for a while and it wore out. It didn't work good. I realized it didn't have the durability that I needed. It's like you're scratching your own itch because you're talking about something you're obsessed with. In the same way you would help a friend avoid something that doesn't work or isn't quite the right fit. Now, the next one is understanding the viewer's problems. And then lastly, you want to guide them to the right choice. So these are simple sales skills. And it's not that you need to sell, but you need to help. And here's what happens. When you make a high quality video that hits these elements. It gives the viewer confidence to now not just have that credit card in hand, they want to make a purchase, but instead of them being paralyzed, like, I'm not sure that video even helped me, or like, I kind of heard the person say, buy the T7, but I don't know if that's right. But when you say, hey, listen, you need to know the difference between these product names, these product labels, they go, wow, okay, you've really helped bring so much clarity. And you taught me about 5, 6, 7, 10 things I hadn't even thought about. You've boosted their confidence, you've removed confusion, you've educated the viewer of what to do next. So then you might say, so hey, if you're this type of person, go with option A. If you're this type of person, go with option B. If you're this type of person, go with option C. And by the way, I'll put links in my description down below. Those are my affiliate links. This is why some people are making thousands or 50 a day with affiliate marketing and other opportunities, and why some never make sales. It's actually a content structure issue and it's lacking the skill set of sales itself. Now there's a whole bunch of advanced sales stuff. We're going to be talking about more of that on ytsprint. Com if people want to be a part of that event. I've never heard anybody say this before, that to be better on YouTube and make more money on YouTube, you need to grow in sales. And I don't blame people. It's almost like, well, that's not what I want to do. I don't want to grow that skill. But I think it's a reframe. It's like you need to grow that skill. If you want to do this part time or full time, you have to add to skill sets you wouldn't even think you needed so that ultimately you can serve people and have money for your mission of going part time or full time on.
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YouTube. Podcast how has your money plan changed in these 20, 30 minutes together, right? Like, what do you need to work on? Would you let us know if you need to refine some of your sales skills? If you'd appreciate more content? Diving deeper into that, you can like rate, share, review wherever you're watching or listening. This is the Think Media Podcast. I'm Nathan Eswine and I can't wait to connect with you in a future.