DENVER – According to YouTube, the video sharing site has more than a billion active users, which is almost one-third of all internet users. Crazy, huh?
You know what’s even crazier? You can create your own YouTube Channel and make some money off it.
“No way!” you say.
Way. Way, my friend.
“I started getting interested in showing the world what I can do,” said Sophia Rose.
Rose is an artist and she loves sharing her art with the world on her YouTube page. Here’s the catch: her art became famous online not because it was visually stunning. But instead, because it sounds soothing.
“All the videos I make are about making trigger sounds or visuals of well-being,” said Rose.
Rose records her work with a camera, uploads them to YouTube and makes them available for people to watch and listen. Basically, you see her drawing a doodle – but the sound from the Sharpie markers she uses is what attracts people.
“I have 40,000 subscribers,” she said.
That’s right … 40,000 subscribers who log on just to listen to someone draw with a Sharpie.
Rose learned a great deal about YouTube, attracting subscribers and how to find success through a man named Anthony Prichard.
“Collaboration videos are probably the #1 tool you can use to grow your channels that so many people aren’t utilizing,” Prichard said before a class.
Prichard runs the Denver YouTube Professionals Group. It’s an organization aimed at teaching people how to become YouTube sensations and how to make money off of their videos.
“The ability to go viral is there – going viral is really hard to manufacture,” Prichard said.
First things first, you need gear.
But the gear you use could be as simple as a smart phone.
“You can make videos easier on your smart phone which you already carry in your pocket,” Prichard said.
“I have a SONY camcorder. I put it on my hand,” Rose said of her technology.
Rose did what experts in this field suggest you do: create unique content and find a niche audience.
“You have to find an audience that’s hungry for more content. And that might mean an industry that doesn’t have a lot of content published about it yet,” Prichard said.
“A lot of times people are calmed by the sound,” Rose said while drawing.
With a lack of other people doing what Rose is doing, she was able to gain a following quickly. As noted earlier, 40,000 subscribers with millions of views.
“I am getting very close to 4 million I think,” Rose said.
Those views eventually translate into dollars. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact amount YouTube pays, but experts say depending on ad money you can usually make $100 a month per 50,000 views.
“My brother who does this says I could make $500 to $800 a month with the subscribership I have,” Rose explained.
Breaking down the largest money makers on YouTube, you’ll find the WWE with more than 8 million subscribers and more than 5 billion video views, which makes about $94,000 a month. Whereas gaming guru ‘Jack Septic Eye’ takes in about $50,000 a month with his 7 million subscribers.
“The less marketing message you have in your video – the better and more authentic it’s going to feel and that’ll result in increased traffic,” Prichard said.
Prichard will be the first to tell you there is no perfect method and as Rose discovered, sometimes the path to success isn’t always a straight line.