The Think Media Podcast, Ep. 475

How Small Channels Are Making $50 Per Day on YouTube
Date: December 30, 2025
Host: Sean Cannell w/ Nathan Eswine

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into pragmatic strategies for smaller YouTube channels to realistically achieve $50 per day in revenue. Sean Cannell and Nathan Eswine break down the "math of making money" on YouTube, debunk myths around view counts, and provide advanced tips that rarely get discussed in the YouTube creator space. The tone is practical, motivational, and action-oriented, aiming to help creators move from confusion to confident growth.

1. Debunking the "Millions of Views" Myth

(01:23 – 02:08)

• Many creators falsely assume that "you need millions of views to make good money on YouTube."
• Sean clarifies that income potential is about the right kind of views, not sheer volume.

Quote:

"People think you need millions of views to make good money on YouTube, and that's just not true." — Sean Cannell (01:34)

2. Understand the YouTube Money Math

(02:08 – 06:35)

Key Concepts:

• RPM (Revenue per Mille): How much you earn per 1,000 monetized views.

  • $5 RPM → $50/day with 10,000 daily views
  • $10 RPM → $50/day with 5,000 daily views
  • $25 RPM → $50/day with 2,000 daily views
  • $50 RPM → $50/day with 1,000 daily views
  • Not all views pay the same—topic choice highly impacts RPM.

• Affiliate Marketing:

  • Recommending products/services and earning commissions from purchases made through your affiliate links.
  • Examples:
    • $20 commission → 3 sales/day = $60/day
    • $10 commission → 5 sales/day = $50/day
    • $5 commission → 10 sales/day = $50/day

• SaaS Affiliate Revenue (Software as a Service):

  • Example: $5 commission/month, 300 total customers = $1,500/month ($50/day) in near-passive income.
  • Recurring revenue compounds as users remain subscribed.

Quote:

"The big secret is not all views on YouTube pay the same." — Sean (02:44)

Memorable Framing:
Nathan: "This is where math turns into hope." (06:35)

3. Topic Selection: How Your Niche Influences Earnings

(07:08 – 10:24)

• Low-Paying Niches ($1–5 RPM):

  • Gaming, comedy, vlogs, memes, pranks, entertainment, reaction content.
  • Need very high view counts for significant revenue.

• Medium-Paying Niches ($5–12 RPM):

  • Travel, food/cooking, DIY, home improvement, productivity, base-level tech, health & fitness.
  • More attainable earnings with modest audience size.

• High-Paying Niches ($12–25 RPM):

  • Real estate, advanced tech/software, small business, marketing, parenting, home office, photography.
  • Audience seen as ready buyers by advertisers.

• Very High-Paying Niches ($25–40 RPM & up):

  • Online business, digital marketing, sales and coaching, AI, B2B tutorials, high-ticket offers.
  • Audiences are business owners with real money to spend.

Quote:

"If you talk about topics that advertisers will pay more for, you'll earn more even if you have a small channel." — Sean (07:15)

4. Who’s Watching? Maximizing Audience Value

(10:24 – 13:29)

• The demographics and buying power of your audience heavily influence CPM/RPM.

  • Targeting older, affluent viewers (e.g., “how women in their 50s can lose weight”) can raise RPM.
  • Viewers in developed countries are worth more to advertisers.

• Strategic Tip:

  • "Call out" certain audiences in video titles or content to attract viewers with stronger spending intent.

Quote:

"Advertisers will pay more to reach a baby boomer that has disposable income... than they will to reach a teenager." — Sean (10:32)

5. On-Platform vs. Off-Platform Revenue

(13:29 – 15:09)

• On-YouTube:

  • AdSense (ads), Super Chats, Channel Memberships.
  • Requires monetization (1,000 subs, 4,000 hours).
  • Paid directly by YouTube/Google.

• Off-YouTube:

  • Where most money is made for most creators.
  • Direct viewers to: affiliate links, brand deals, sponsorships, email lists, courses, downloads, SaaS commissions, own products.
  • Think Media will cover these models in future episodes.

Quote:

"For a lot of channels, most channels, you're not even going to make most of your money from ads." — Nathan (13:29)

6. Advanced Insights: Secrets Rarely Discussed

Tip #4: Viewer Intent—Matching Content to Monetization

(15:25 – 18:44)

• Randomly placing affiliate links in entertainment or vlogs rarely works.
• Content that aligns with a buying intent — e.g., product reviews, tutorials, comparisons — converts far more reliably.
• Example: "Best camera for video for Beginners" targets viewers ready to buy.

Analogy:

"Imagine opening up a lemonade stand in the middle of winter... Lemonade is good, but that's not the ideal place or time." — Sean (17:52)

Tip #5: Developing Simple Sales Skills

(19:08 – 24:49)

• You don’t have to be “salesy”—serve and educate, as if you were a knowledgeable associate in-store.

• Good sales means:

  • Know your products well.
  • Know which audiences they’re right for.
  • Anticipate and address common questions.
  • Understand your viewer’s problems.
  • Guide them to the right choice—and make your affiliate links available.

• Most creators underperform in revenue due to poor content structure + lack of basic sales acumen.

Quote:

"You’re not just pushing a product, you’re serving and you’re helping the viewer make a good decision." — Sean (20:40)

• Encourage creators to reframe “sales” as simply helping viewers—unlocking part- or full-time income potential.

7. Calls to Action & Next Steps

(Interspersed throughout)

• Think Media’s Free Event:

  • YouTube Growth Sprint — deep dives into YouTube strategies and AI tools.
  • Registration: ytsprint.com

• YouTube Creator Toolkit:

  • New resource for aspiring YouTubers.
  • Holiday sale at thinkmediasale.com

8. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "The truth is you need the right views and you have to understand how YouTube works." — Sean (02:10)
• "I see the mistake that a lot of people make... no one is purchasing anything. That's because individuals don't understand viewer intent." — Sean (15:38)
• "When you make a high quality video that hits these elements, it gives the viewer confidence... You've boosted their confidence, you've removed confusion..." — Sean (23:14)
• "To be better on YouTube and make more money on YouTube, you need to grow in sales." — Sean (24:33)

9. Useful Timestamps for Navigation

• 01:23 — Realistic earnings for small channels; RPM explained
• 02:08 — Monetization math, affiliate examples, SaaS recurring revenue
• 07:08 — Niche breakdown: low, medium, high, very high-paying
• 10:24 — Understanding your audience’s value to advertisers
• 13:29 — Platform (AdSense) vs. off-platform (affiliates/sponsorships)
• 15:25 — Advanced: Viewer intent and content alignment
• 19:08 — Simple sales skills for content creators
• 24:49 — Recap & future directions

10. Tone & Takeaways

The hosts balance hard numbers with an encouraging mindset, urging creators to "reverse engineer" their channel for maximum earning potential without requiring a massive audience. The spirit is empowering, with a push to move from being “just a creator” to a strategic, service-focused content entrepreneur.

This summary captures all major tactical insights, actionable tips, and “aha” moments shared in the episode—making it easy for aspiring YouTubers to implement strategies that can bring real, sustainable income even with a “small” channel.