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Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,573,025 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KaraG
Does the IRS consider it work?
Because really, that's what matters.
When you start, nobody makes money...so the IRS would not consider it work. It’s a hobby...until you start making money AND a lot of ppl never do. edit: Matter of fact the majority never do & the IRS won’t care. So that’s the super important point for the O.P. IMO.^^
The more you “work” at it or the longer it takes you to create a video does not mean the more chance you can start making money. It’s not a movie production....a lot of ppl just want visually pleasing, easy to follow how to’s & information. (Tho it depends on what your material is ofc.) That’s what I have found with my channel over the years AND they like to be involved by asking questions, voting on topics for future videos & winning giveaways.
Last edited by TashaPosh; 06-18-2021 at 07:33 AM..
I think it's probably best if you find that "happy medium" as a content creator, if you can.
There are some creators that I follow with rather large followings (500k+ subs) that are very bare bones, or ZEP (zero effort production) as you might call it. It's basically a one-man show, their videos have no intro, no outro, no graphics, no background music, no drone shots, etc., just them and their camera (usually their phone) as they visit road side attractions or Disney or other amusement parks.
The one YouTuber that comes to mind, is Adam the Woo from his Daily Woo channel, I would be shocked if he spends more than 30 minutes editing his videos down each night, yes he posts videos almost daily. And surprisingly he just shutdown his Patreon page, and sells his T-shirts at cost and makes no profit from them, he has never had sponsors, although he probably can easily get a bunch of them and solely lives off his AdSense revenue, which I would guess is in the high 5-figures range or even the low 6-figures range, not bad for someone with no college degree and was stocking shelves at Staples before his full-time YouTube career took off!
His videos are "evergreen" and his library of thousands of videos continue to get tens of thousands of views each and every day. Yes, he has been doing YouTube for a decade, is not married, has no significant other, no children, but seems to be enjoying his life, at least on how he presents it in his videos, since you never know how someone really is deep down inside.
Getting back to the video production/editing aspect, there are a plethora of companies out there, that will do all the editing for you, all the graphics, background music, add the intro and outro, all you need to do is send them the video footage every day or whenever you want to make a video. Of course this service comes at a price and will eat into your profits somewhat, as compared to doing it all yourself or "in house", but for some creators it might be worth it, to go this route, so you have more time to do other things, instead of editing.
Kitboga who does scambaiting videos is one with minimal editing and stationary cameras and has 1.8 million Youtube subscribers and almost a million on Twitch. He spends hours on the phone with scammers filming but not a lot of time on editing and his expenses have to be almost nothing. I wonder how much he is pulling down.
When you start, nobody makes money...so the IRS would not consider it work. It’s a hobby...until you start making money AND a lot of ppl never do. edit: Matter of fact the majority never do & the IRS won’t care. So that’s the super important point for the O.P. IMO.^^
.
Obviously, if you don't earn any money, it's not a taxable event, lol.
But when you do earn money, it is taxable and very easy to trace. When we went through an audit we became friendly with the IRS agent after all the time he spent with us. He said they thought it was hysterical that people wouldn't claim income because the IRS gets the documents from the companies who pay. They care. Self employment tax is required at a measly $400.
Good advice is to keep records from the start. My son's first youtube video went viral in 2009 and while he didn't make a ton of cash back then, he did several TV interviews and of course claimed all the income. He took a break and concentrated on work and raising his family, now he's back online doing some different things online for extra funds and of course claims all the money from the various income streams, the sponsorships/ads, donations/gifts, revenue from TikToc and youtube, etc.
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,573,025 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KaraG
Obviously, if you don't earn any money, it's not a taxable event, lol.
Ofc...but my point was talking about why the O.P. should look at it as a hobby 1st^^....because the majority never make money on YT. I never planned to be making the money I have made the past several yrs from it AND ofc I pay taxes.
edit: the O.P. hasn’t even decided what “topic” to do tho & was just asking if anybody makes money on YT.
Last edited by TashaPosh; 06-19-2021 at 11:24 AM..
Ofc...but my point was talking about why the O.P. should look at it as a hobby 1st^^....because the majority never make money on YT. I never planned to be making the money I have made the past several yrs from it AND ofc I pay taxes.
Do you even have much to deduct for your expenses? And do you get free product from your sponsors? Is that considered taxable? Or do you buy product for the video and your personal use as well - are those types of purchases deductible?
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,573,025 times
Reputation: 7613
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaraG
Do you even have much to deduct for your expenses? And do you get free product from your sponsors? Is that considered taxable? Or do you buy product for the video and your personal use as well - are those types of purchases deductible?
Tho there isn’t a lot to deduct...since a lot of it I have used for personal use before the video BUT new equipment is. I’ve learned a lot...after I started making money on my channel. Ofc I have to pay income tax on YT income & sponsorships tho.^^
I did product & affiliate sponsorships when I was first getting sponsors but now I am super lucky to have paid sponsorships because my channel is older & more established with a bigger subscriber base.
There are some YT channels that make great money. Those channels parlay into other activities that can make you more money. Fame is the new gold. Look at the Paul Brothers. I dont even know what they did on their channels, but they have now become boxers.
Logan Paul just recently fought Floyd Mayweather, and make millions for one nights work
Then there is a guy like DeerMeatForDinner. He just goes around hunts, and fishes, and now he owns a giant plantation somewhere in Palm Beach County. He just travels to exotic places.
Youtube has become the new Television, but its more open to the public. No longer do people need to go through Hollywood, and that ole boy network to become famous.
I work in digital media marketing and communications. Making money on YouTube (and other social media channels) is doable, but it's rare. It takes a ton of work and a ton of time. While there are a few people who happen upon success by chance, most have put years of energy and effort into their channels. Like most things, it's not something you will be successful at unless you're passionate about what you do, good (like well above average) at what you do, and can keep the pace.
I've worked with several "influencers" who are varying degrees of successful on YouTube. One guy used to own a small automotive repair shop but sold it to take a 9-5 mechanic job at a dealership and pursue his passion on YouTube - custom and unique automotive projects and DIY videos. He spends the bulk of his nights and weekends filming videos, creating, scheduling, and publishing posts (across multiple social channels), and engaging with followers. He's been at it for 3 years, has around 100k followers, and pulls in about $20k per year. He's acknowledged that if he didn't really enjoy doing it, it wouldn't be worth it. He's spent over $10k on gear (cameras, audio equipment, etc.) in addition to the investment in automotive tools (many of which came from his former shop), and the time spent is basically another full-time job.
Another influencer I've worked with is a Zumba instructor. She started at a local studio and got permission to live stream her sessions which enabled her to build an online following over time while getting a steady paycheck. When she started getting a consistent stream of income (though not the equivalent of a full-time job at a studio), she decided to go off on her own. She did virtual sessions at home and continued to grow her following. She supplemented the income by doing sessions in local studios. Eventually, she grew a big enough following to command decent money to do in-person appearances and private sessions. Her YouTube channel makes OK money (though really not as much as people would think), but the bulk of her income comes from private sessions, running Zumba camps, etc. She gets flown all over the country to teach in-person at special events. The YouTube channel enabled that, but it's not the sole (or even primary) income stream for her business. Like the mechanic, she invested a ton of money in equipment. She bought a condo with a nice view for her videos, and regularly goes to the beach, the mountains, etc. to tape. The aesthetic doesn't just matter, it's an essential component of creating content people will want to watch.
So if you're considering it, really think about what you want it to be. If it's a hobby, you don't care if you make much money, and you're keeping your full-time job - then go for it. If you want it to be something that really makes you money, then make sure you're ready to commit. It's a little concerning that you have to brainstorm topics. I've yet to meet anyone successful on YouTube that didn't have a pretty clear idea of what they were doing when they got started. Fitness people are good at fitness, gamers are good at gaming, DIY people are good at DIY, etc. If you don't have a clear idea from the onset, I hope you just start as a hobby and see where it takes you.
Some YTers just film themselves while on vacay. They living like Anthony Bourdain. Others just film themselves stuffing their faces at exotic restaurants like Mark Wiens and Mikey Chen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga
I like the boiling water analogy!
I also wanted to add being good looking doesn't hurt, although there are plenty of professional YouTubers that make 6 or 7 figures a year, who are not that pleasing to the eye, but they have a cult of personality or as someone I follow on the BOYT (Bottom of YouTube!) says, they are "oddly compelling".
Sadly the Golden Age of YouTube is long gone.
No way the golden years are just starting. The vids are getting better and better as more money injected.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinivanDriver
The pinnacle, the sine qua non of YouTube revenue models is done by these people.
SV Delos is a sailboat with ridiculously cool and beautiful people sailing around the world. They started out ten years ago as two brothers putting together crudely-done videos to show the folks back home. They slowly got better at it and started monetizing it. They found girlfriends, started adding more people, developed a website, and started selling merchandise. There's no drama to their escapades. No manufactured baloney like reality TV. Just some incredibly chill people exploring the world.
Now they have 750,000 subscribers and put out one polished video weekly. They also have supporters through Patreon. Just through Patreon alone, they make bank. This article is from 2016. And I would imagine their revenue stream has only gotten bigger in the past five years.
Others include Kelly Young, DeerMeatForDinner. They dont sail around but do travel in luxury. They just play at the beach, and on boats, and in the water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga
I would say at least 75-80% of SV Delos's revenue is from Patreon, and like you say it's mighty impressive.
They and Sailing La Vagabonde, basically laid down the blueprint for the "sailing genre" on YouTube, which has been copied by channels like Sailing Doodles and others, basically put out one video a week, have beautiful looking women, go to amazing tropical places around theworld, and make $250,000+ a year from Patreon alone!
If you look at SV Delos's Patreon page, they have 2,088 patrons, the lowest level is $5/video, I'm sure some partrons are at the higher levels, but the MINIMUM they make from Patreon (before taxes and Patreon's cut) is $542,880/year, not too shabby!
A lot of people get sponsored by brands. They give a shoutout. For a strange reason the most common brand for the channels I watch is Manscaped brand of men's grooming supplies.
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,573,025 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133
A lot of people get sponsored by brands. They give a shoutout. For a strange reason the most common brand for the channels I watch is Manscaped brand of men's grooming supplies.
If it’s a paid sponsorship instead of product or affiliate....we have to do more than a shout out. We have to create an endorsement & submit a proposal (like on Famebit or Aspire) AND some will only do product sponsorships, tho I used to get a lot from Urban Decay that way. It’s an easy way to do giveaways.
BUT..everybody wants paid sponsorships or the smart ppl do IMO. We make the most money that way but they are the hardest to get & it has to be a good fit for your channel ofc.
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We make the most money that way but they are the hardest to get & it has to be a good fit for your channel ofc.
