YouTube Hits 14 Billion Videos; What Makes The Platform Successful?
Analyzing YouTube's success rate and monetization opportunities for creators.
The creator economy is booming, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to analyze the success rates of different platforms, including monetization opportunities for creators. Today, let’s delve into the platform that stands out as the most successful. Any guesses which one it might be?
(I’ll give you a hint, I talked about it in my latest article on macroculture vs. microculture!)
If you guessed Facebook, you’re wrong. The correct answer is YouTube! Like us, you may be surprised, but despite not actively posting on this platform, we sure use it a lot.
In fact, YouTube is the second most popular website in the world as of November 2022, following Google in first place, which coincidentally owns YouTube.
I would also ask you to guess how many videos are on YouTube, but I know you won’t get this one right either. According to The Atlantic, there are 14 billion videos uploaded on YouTube, and this number is restricted to videos publicly available. I am not a YouTuber, and even I have three videos listed private, so I can’t imagine what the total number is.
How is this possible? 14 billion videos?!
Well, not everything posted is intended to go viral, and not everything posted is meant to be monetized.
Miscellaneous videos are always being posted, whether it's the recording of a work meeting, a church service or a course lecture.
As someone who went to college during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have watched many pre-recorded lectures on YouTube. Even before the pandemic, I was posting video presentations on YouTube to submit to professors. We’ve all used the platform in some shape or form, even if we didn’t directly associate the actions with social media.
However, most of us can agree that we mainly use YouTube to watch our favorite creators, which is where viral videos and content monetization come into play. Whether it’s a week in the life vlog, public pranks, challenges, cooking, shopping hauls or a do-it-yourself (DIY) video, there is something for everyone to watch and enjoy on this platform.
It’s clear that with 14 billion publicly uploaded videos, many people are also posting on this platform, but not everyone has the ability to monetize their videos.
The YouTube Partner Program is intended to help creators monetize their content, but there are strict requirements to become eligible. To apply to the program, you need 500 subscribers with three public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
To unlock revenue sharing from ads and YouTube Premium, you must have 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
With an abundance of content on the platform, it’s harder to stand out. That’s why having a loyal subscriber base is important to receive views and circulate your videos on the algorithm. Although it may take some time to reach the requirements, it will be worth it, as many creators receive high profits from YouTube.
First, there are many ways to earn money on Youtube. The primary ways are through views and ads on uploaded videos and shorts. Beyond this, there are features such as YouTube Shopping, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, YouTube BrandConnect and channel memberships. Similar to other platforms, creators can post for brand partnerships and offer special content to paid monthly members.
Every YouTuber makes a different amount per video depending on duration, watch time, ads and views. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, on average, a YouTuber earns $0.018 for each view, which is equivalent to $18 per 1,000 views. To make more money, YouTubers post longer videos, apply ads to videos and post more frequently.
The following chart shares YouTube’s highest earning creators, as well as their total subscribers, views and net worth.
Note that these are extreme examples, exemplifying the opportunity YouTube offers creators, but you can still be successful in a smaller capacity.
It’s never too late to start creating content on YouTube. If you are a creator and are looking for a new way to monetize, YouTube is an amazing platform to consider. Especially with concerns of a TikTok ban and Instagram’s estranged algorithm recently, it’s important to have a steady platform that you can rely on for income. Let us know your thoughts and what platform you want to learn more about next!
Best,
Ariana for the Don’t Count Us Out Yet Team