I started my YouTube channel just over a year ago to test out a few things. First, I wanted to challenge myself to learn a bit more about the platform and create 10 vlog style videos within the year. Then after that first burst of videos I gained a huge knowledge about filming and editing quickly and efficiently. That then turned me on to product reviews and tutorial style videos. Only creating a few follow up videos to those original 10 were tough enough but at the base of it a couple of those videos did incredibly well to my surprise.
The way YouTube works is they allow creators to build and publish to a channel and if you channel is large enough or meets a specific threshold they will reward you with payment for playing ads in front of or in between those videos. Now, the pay isn't anything to write home about, I think I made $100 that first year I made videos from Adsense so that is $10 per video. Not great for an aspiring videographer thinking they will jump ship on the day job to fulfill that dream of becoming a YouTube sensation overnight, but there is hope.
Everyone is up in arms about the recent changes to YouTubes push to heighten the threshold in which you can make money on it's platform, and for good reason. They are a business and for the longest time many of their top creators and advertisers are seeing many small time channels grow from stealing and reposting popular content simply to get those views needed to be qualified for Adsense dollar amounts.
Below is the email I got from YouTube recently because my channel is deemed too small now to meet that threshold and means I need to get back to work if I want to maintain that status as a YouTube creator on the paid side.
"What's Changing
Under the new eligibility requirements announced today, your YouTube channel, Andrew Griswold, is no longer eligible for monetization because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. As a result, your channel will lose access to all monetization tools and features associated with the YouTube Partner Program on February 20, 2018 unless you surpass this threshold in the next 30 days. Accordingly, this email serves as 30 days notice that your YouTube Partner Program terms are terminated.
One of YouTube’s core values is to provide anyone the opportunity to earn money from a thriving channel. Creators who haven’t yet reached this new threshold can continue to benefit from our Creator Academy, our Help Center, and all the resources on the Creator Site to grow their channels. Once your channel reaches the new threshold, it will be reviewed to make sure it adheres to our policies and guidelines, and if so, monetization will be re-enabled."
I will admit it is a bummer I am way short on the subscriber total but to be honest, it took no time at all with minimal work to grab at 150 subs. Mind you, the previous count only needed to be 100. In the last 365 days I reached 120,000 minutes of watch time, or roughly 2,000 hours of videos binged on my channel. Having just shy of 150 subscribers I still have some work to do, so if you want to help push that number up, be sure to hit up my channel to show some love and subscribe.
For those young up and coming creators that think the new rules kill your hopes for building a channel, you are sadly mistaken. Like anything it takes hard work, persistence, and quality content to build up to that new bar. I hope to shoot far more video this year and I look to crush that 4,000 hour watch time and finally break through that 1,000 subscriber count. I think it will happen before spring time this year which will leave me the last half of the year to push further on the platform.
What do you think of the new rules? Did you known anything about it? Would this type of random change in rules sway your deciison to hop on to create fun video content? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on Instagram or Twitter to let me know your thoughts.
Also, if you want to get a jump on the videos I've got up on the channel here is a quick access to one about some quick Instagram tips.