I started my YouTube channel on 6th April 2015, experimented with a few home videos and because I didn’t have the mental or economical wherewithal to really give YouTube a go. I just stopped uploading videos to my YouTube channel for years.
It wasn’t until September 2019 that I made a conscious decision to be a YouTuber.
On 14th September 2019, I began my YouTube journey proper by uploading my “first” video to the platform. After which, I kept creating and uploading videos to YouTube and got monetized on 20th April 2023.
It took me exactly 3 years, 7 months and 6 days. I hope it doesn’t take you that long if you are just starting. And that is what this post is about.
I’m going to outline the lessons I’ve learnt on my YouTube journey so far and the mistakes I made, so hopefully you can learn from me and make your own YouTube monetization journey that much faster.
My Inspiration To Start
In the preceding months to September 2019, I watched hundreds of YouTube videos from the likes of Roberto Blake and Think Media.
The subject of these videos was mainly how and why to start a YouTube channel, and how to increase your influence and visibility on the internet and earn money while doing it.
I also watched videos from established YouTubers like Marques Brownlee, Peter McKinnon and Casey Neistat. From the outside looking in, I had big dreams of starting and reaping huge benefits in a few short months. I would be the next big thing on YouTube.
Or so I thought.
I also watched established YouTubers from my country, Kenya, like Miss Trudy, Wabosha Maxine, The Green Calabash and Over 25.
All these YouTube videos served to inspire me to start my own YouTube journey. If all these people could do it, why not me?
And yes, it goes without saying that I battled that pesky interferer, imposter syndrome, for several weeks. I still do.
But because I already started and have a fair number of videos under my belt now, it’s easier to stand up to imposter syndrome and say… “Hey, I’ve got some ammunition too, I already started.”
Anyway, back to the story, I remember very clearly sitting with a friend, at the start of September 2019, her name was Sylvia Bosibori, I’d gone to their place to visit.
I told Sylvia that I was going to start a YouTube channel and be a YouTuber. I had no camera and know-how, but I was determined to start. I’m not sure if Sylvia believed me or took me seriously, but on 14th September 2019. After making my first video using an Infinix S4 phone.
I uploaded my first video on YouTube and began my journey.
My First Days On YouTube
The first days on YouTube are in my opinion the hardest.
Maybe it’s easier for some, but for me, absolutely nothing was happening on my YouTube channel. I would get a video idea, shoot it with my phone, an Infinix S4, and edit it on my rusty Dell E6320 laptop, and upload it to YouTube.
And then, nothing.
No views or 2 to 5 of me watching my own videos, no subscribers, no comments, no words of encouragement or criticism. Just a huge arena of silence.
And man that is tough. It is for this reason that I want to thank my brother, Ronny, I think he was the first to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
As well as the first 100 people to effectively sign up to me by subscribing to my YouTube channel. I don’t know all of you because some people on YouTube hide their subscription activity, making it impossible for the channels they subscribe to, to know their identity.
Still, I want to thank you all, you are my heroes. I do know some of you… I’ll attach some of your names here in video form. You guys are great.
Anyway, I kept making videos, and I kept getting little or no results. Part of that was because I didn’t know what I was doing. (I still don’t with certainty, hahaha)
My videos were terrible to watch, the video quality from my Infinix S4 was atrocious, and the sound quality wasn’t inspiring. Tough eh! Anyway, I kept on keeping on.
Key Lessons On Being A New Youtuber
From my own experience, this is what I’d say to anyone contemplating starting a YouTube channel or in the early days of their YouTube journey.
- Start with what you have (If you can afford a camera, well and good, if you can’t, use your phone.
- Concentrate on being a good storyteller, whether that is through your cinematography or your on-camera personality.
- Learn as much as possible from other YouTubers on the platform. Copy what works if you must but don’t lose your individuality (There’s only one you in the whole wide world, sell you to the YouTube audience)
- Very few people will watch your YouTube videos, to begin with (Unless you are a celebrity or already have a huge following on some other social media platform like Instagram)
- Don’t lose hope when your channel takes time to grow, others will be lucky in this area, but if your channel doesn’t immediately take off, keep reminding yourself why you started and keep going. You can NEVER STOP, no matter how bad it gets. Never stop.
- Keep reinventing yourself. If you think something isn’t working, think again and try something new.
- Find a niche as quickly as possible, people like routine. They like to know what to expect when they visit a YouTube channel. Look at all the greats you know on YouTube, their channels have a particular niche with which they identify
- Don’t ask people, especially friends and family to subscribe to your YouTube channel. (Let your channel grow organically) YouTube uses machine learning and AI to recommend a channel to new audiences, so by asking people to subscribe to your YouTube channel, YouTube thinks those are organic subscribers but because you can’t force people to watch your videos, the YouTube algorithm is confused, in essence, it wonders why people are subscribing to your channel and not watching your videos.
- Let people find your content organically, and let those who like your content subscribe, these kind of people are more likely to keep watching the content you make because they like the content you make and they like you as a person and that is why they subbed.
- Views are more important than subscribers, YouTube nowadays is all about views, pay more attention to making good quality content that will have people coming back for more. Views lead to more subscribers, but subscribers don’t necessarily lead to more views. Especially if said subscribers are coerced into subscribing.
YouTube Requirements For Monetization
I know that by now you already know the threshold YouTube places on YouTube monetization.
But in case you don’t, let me outline them briefly.
- 4,000 hours of watch time
What this means is that your entire video catalogue should be watched for 4,000 hours in a span of 12 months.
Let me simplify that further, all the YouTube videos on your channel need to be watched by people on YouTube for 4,000 hours.
Say you upload a 10-minute video. If I watch that video from start to finish. That’s 10 minutes that is credited to your channel watch time.
If a second person watches the same video from start to finish, that’s 20 minutes of total watch time.
And so on until your channel watch time is 4,000 hours. (240,000 minutes)
YouTube also requires that the watch time be accumulated in a span of 12 months.
So you keep losing watch time from the 1st month every time you get to 13 months. I hope that makes sense.
- 1,000 subscribers
The second requirement is much easier to understand.
On top of 4,000 hours of watchtime, YouTube requires that your channel gets 1,000 subscribers before it’s eligible for monetization.
- Requirements for YouTube monetization that nobody talks about
4,000 hours of watch time as well as 1,000 subscribers are YouTube monetization thresholds everyone knows about.
But it may surprise you to learn that YouTube has other less-talked-about requirements for monetization. These are;
- Advertiser-friendly content
If your YouTube channel talks about controversial topics such as illegal drugs, prostitution, or other risky topics such as guns and the like.
There is a high likelihood your YouTube channel will not be monetized by YouTube even if you meet the other two requirements.
The reason for this is that YouTube is basically an advertisement business and no brand wants to be associated with controversial topics like the ones I just mentioned.
- You should not use copyrighted videos or copy and paste someone else’s work.
Your YouTube channel should be yours. The videos therein must be original works from you.
If you copy and paste other people’s videos, not only will you NOT be monetized, but your YouTube channel may be deleted by YouTube.
N/B: If your YouTube channel gets three copyright strikes (Notices from YouTube that you are using copyrighted material) it gets deleted by YouTube.
My YouTube Journey To Monetization
My YouTube channel used to be called Bujabs Dennis (a nickname of mine)
Later on in my YouTube journey, I changed the channel name to Dennis Ohuru (my real name)
I say this because I’ll be sharing milestones so don’t be surprised if you see that the channel name is Bujabs Dennis.
That said, I started my YouTube channel with absolutely no idea about videography or video editing.
My approach was that I would learn everything I needed to learn as I progressed. And maybe that’s why it took me over 3 years to get monetized.
I was learning and making videos at the same time. And if you really think about it, I guess it makes sense that it took me that long.
Think about it, an average undergraduate course at the university takes 4 years. A student taking such a course is not paid to learn. In fact, the student pays tuition fees.
First, you learn, and then you earn. And the quicker you learn, the quicker you can start to earn.
I guess that this basic principle of the world also applies to YouTube.
How Long It Took Me To Get To 1,000 Subscribers on YouTube
- It took me 2 months to get from 0 to 50 subscribers. (Mostly people I coerced and pleaded into subscribing)
- It took me a year to get from 0 to 100 subscribers.
- It took me 2 years and 10 months to get from 0 to 500 subscribers
- It took me 3 years and 5 months to get from 0 to 1,000 subscribers
How Many Views It Took To Get To 1000 Subscribers on YouTube
- It took me 30,000 lifetime views to get to 500 subscribers.
- It took me approximately 86,000 lifetime views to get to 1,000 subscribers
Buying My First Camera
After making about 33 videos using my Infinix S4 phone.
I took a loan with a Sacco and purchased my first camera, The Canon M50, which I still use to date.
I love the camera, it has a flip-out screen that allows me to see myself when I’m vlogging. As well as Canon’s legendary Dual Pixel Autofocus which always keeps me in focus so I don’t have to worry about blurry videos.
If you want to read all about the Canon M50, here’s a thorough review I made about it.
My Editing Software
I currently use Filmora to edit my YouTube videos.
Filmora is a capable editing software with semi-professional features.
I’d like to upgrade to more powerful editing software like Davinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro, but my Laptop (HP EliteBook 1040 G2) can’t run them.
Related: Master Video Editing; Useful Tips, Tools and Techniques For Beginners
Applying To The YouTube Partner Program
Once your YouTube channel attains the monetization thresholds placed by YouTube. To get monetized, you need to apply to the YouTube partner program, a very simple process from inside your YouTube studio.
Once the application is sent, YouTube reviews your channel to determine whether you comply with its monetization policies, and if you do, your channel is approved for monetization.
The review process for my YouTube channel took 2 days but YouTube says it can take up to a month.
If you are not accepted into the YouTube Partner Program for any reason, you can reapply after 30 days.
If you do get into the YouTube Partner Program though, you can then enable monetization in your YouTube studio and start earning money on YouTube.
Ways Through Which YouTube Channels Make Money
There are several ways YouTube channels make money.
The main ones from the YouTube partner program are;
- Watch Page Ads
- Short Feed Ads
- Memberships
- Supers
- Shopping
YouTube Watch Page Ads
YouTube Watch Page Ads are the advertisements you see when you click on a YouTube video.
Either at the beginning of a YouTube video, at the end of a YouTube video, during a YouTube video, under a YouTube video etcetera.
YouTube takes 45% of all Watch Page AD revenue a channel makes and lets the YouTube creator keep 55%
YouTube Short Feeds Ads
These are advertisements you see when watching YouTube shorts.
So if a monetized YouTube creator creates shorts (I don’t myself) they are eligible to earn from these ads.
Because YouTube shorts allow creators to use copyrighted music, the revenues from YouTube shorts are very low as they only come from YouTube premium subscribers.
Still, YouTube keeps 45% and pays a creator 55% of the short-feed ad revenue a channel makes.
Memberships
YouTube creators can create memberships for their loyal subscribers to buy into as a way of supporting the channel.
A YouTube membership is a perk that a subscriber pays monthly to a YouTuber they like to support their content.
Youtubers can create classes of memberships for their loyal fan base; typically charging more per level.
Say the 1st class of members pay USD 2 a month.
A higher class pays USD 5 per month and so on.
Subscribers that buy into a Creator’s membership can get recognized on the Creator’s YouTube page as well as receive special recognition badges.
Some creators, like me, also give their channel members priority replies to their comments.
I have enabled channel memberships on my channel and for a measly 😂 USD 2.49 you can be a Dennis Ohuru channel member.
Supporting my YouTube channel by becoming a member will allow me to level up my content by getting better machinery and so on, even treating myself to a cup of coffee is motivation enough.
As a Dennis Ohuru channel member, you will get priority replies to your comments and a loyalty badge next to your name in comments and live chat.
I call my channel members “Team Ohuru” Nice, right?
Anyway, YouTube keeps 30% of a channel’s membership earnings and lets the creator keep 70%
Supers
Supers are fun, one-time purchases that viewers on YouTube can purchase to support their favourite creators.
Supers can be in the form of;
- Superchat and stickers during a live stream
- Super thanks for a long-form video or a YouTube short
YouTube keeps 30% of the revenue earned from supers and lets creators keep 70%.
Shopping
Last but not least, eligible YouTubers, typically ones with over 10,000 subscribers can enable shopping.
YouTube shopping lets a creator connect their store or other brands’ stores to their YouTube so their viewers can shop easily.
Products from the connected store are shown on a dedicated product shelf on YouTube as well as on YouTube video descriptions.
Creators keep 100% of revenue from shopping because viewers click on the products and pay on third-party websites and platforms.
Big creators like MKBHD use YouTube shopping to maximum effect and earn thousands of dollars selling channel merchandise like t-shirts and phone cases.
Summary
Starting a YouTube channel has been (and continues to be) the adventure of my life.
This idea of having a personal TV show on the Internet and sharing your life and your stories with people around the world is mind-blowing.
If you are thinking about starting a YouTube channel, start.
It won’t always be easy to create content for your YouTube channel, and you may not see results as quickly as you hoped,
But if you keep creating content, and learning, and if you remain humble and allow yourself to see past the set standards of success like views and subscribers.
You will have the adventure of your life. And what’s more, there’s no knowing tomorrow, what if your channel grows beyond your wildest expectations?
What if my friend?
