how much youtube paid me for my first 6 months with 8.5K subscribers | my monetization & analytics

how much i made in my first 6 months of being monetized, how long it took me to get monetized, and how much youtube paid me with 8.5K subscribers! i am breaking down my analytics and showing the growth of my channel in 2022!

when i first created my channel i constantly asked: how much do small youtubers make? how much do you make in your first 6 months? how do they grow? so now that i am starting to figure out the answers, i thought i would share what i have learned!

i love these videos and thought i would make one myself sharing my growth journey on youtube. all the time i wish i knew when my favorite creators got monetized, how they grew, and when they hit certain milestones, so i thought i would create a video highlighting that for myself.

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current sub count: 8,497

[crook]

Don't quit your channel just because your friends or family don't support you. YouTube is full of strangers rooting for you!

[promptjungle]

Backstory 00:22
Current Progress 01:33
Getting Monetized 03:51
Taking Off 04:54
Monetized After a Year 05:23
Consistency and Hard Work Pay Off 07:15
Monetization 07:49
February 08:47
March 10:02
April 11:40
Monetization Overview 12:09
Earnings for First 6 Months 12:34
Challenges After Monetization 12:49
Advice 13:34

[SprucedandGussied]

This is easily the most authentic/ realistic view into a small YouTubers road to getting monitized. The two gals you mentioned that blew up in 2020 are great examples of combination of talent, hard work and luck. And most YouTube journeys aren’t like that. My growth on here is akin to your first year: slow but gradual . You’ve really inspired me to stay on track and keep going. I’m hoping my hard work and consistency will get me monitized in the next 6 months or so. Just gotta keep going.?Appreciate your insights sooo much!

[ReadySetBuildIt]

I appreciate this so much. Thank you. I am at 859 subscribers and I’ve had my channel since January of 2021. This is very encouraging.

[katrinhalookca]

The trick to YouTube I think is the creator themselves being watchable. Some put out good content but they themselves are dry or dull or boring. I wouldn't choose to watch again. Youre one of the charismatic creators, I come back for *you* with the content being the bonus. Youre always entertaining, like Jenna Marbles back in the day

[ZarinaAhmadzada]

it's really discouraging when you work on a video for 20+ hours and only gets 60 views haha. but these videos keeps me motivated. not bc of the monetization, but the community that comes with the channel's growth. btw, i subbed to you last month, bc the vids are so aesthetic. im still yet to binge watch the apartment series!!

[mistionthemove]

“Remember why you started”
Such an up filling message😊 It is nice to hear the truth about a channels growing and what you are going through !
Thank you!
And congratulations on all your hard work!

[ChristieBrooks]

It's really great seeing creators be so open and honest about things like that. When I first started Youtube, back in 2016, I took a long break because of college and I was debating on coming back, because things weren't going well. It was challening for me, being Greek and doing content in English, but I was like, you're doing this for you, because you enjoy it, so get back there and post what makes you happy. At first, I was so nervous, I was so shut down, it wasn't until I let myself be free and post more relaxed, that I saw difference. I'm not making figures, but the videos are doing well, and that makes me the happiest. Alexis, your vibe is really wonderful, I'm definately gonna stick around.

[LidiaExplores]

This is so refreshing and realistic. Thank you for posting this! Getting those first 1, 000 subscribers and 4, 000 watch hours seems so far away for me right now, but with each video, I am getting a little closer to that goal. It will take a lot of time, patience, and consistency, but I can't wait to have that feeling you described when you got your first check. So cool!

[kiglover]

I really enjoyed this because not a lot of YouTubers are this open and transparent. It’s great for people who want to start a YT like me, it gives us a realistic idea of everything. People make it seem like they start YouTube within 2 months they are already making like buckets of money and that’s just not realistic

[serandy]

This is so true! It only took me 6 months to monetize my food and travel channel, but boy, it was a rough time just seeing my videos not getting views despite how much time I poured into it. You say everything really well and capture the right feel for small Youtubers when starting out. It's not easy but if you love creating content and help people in your own ways, it is just so rewarding! Youtube recommended this one video but it was enough for me to like your simple and honest style. I wish you success in the future. You have inspired me to make a video just like this telling others about my journey too. For other small Youtubers, please don't give up! Just post at least 1 video a week. That's it! Improve each time and success will come. I promise you!

[izzyk]

Love how you emphasised that the most important thing is enjoying making what you post. It's always so obvious if your heart isn't in what you're creating. So amazing to see the journey you've had thanks for sharing a realistic take on this

[debweissler]

So much decorating and reorganizing you can do in a studio apartment. The idea of living in Manhattan appeals to your viewers. What about the challenges of living in a small space in an ultra expensive city. How do you stretch your dollars? How hard is it to find affordable places? What’s it like living in a space with limited views & limited fresh air? How do you adjust to the street noise? Just throwing out some ideas… 😁

[almaasmr]

Thank you for being so open and real about this topic. I have wondered about this for a long time and it's refreshing to hear it from the perspective of a creator with an average growth scenario. I also work from home and even with that advantage, recording, editing, researching and learning constantly can get complicated but it's very rewarding. Great job & you deserve to keep growing fast!

[Camila-imws]

that's really good advice about just putting out content that is authentic to you and makes you happy. I appreciate this because we don't often see the work that goes into people's "overnight" success. I feel confident now that doing anything i love long enough will eventually be monetized. Congrats on sticking to it and being true to yourself!!

[matthuntsboston]

This is very motivating and enlightening. I started my channel about 10 years ago mostly for personal use. Gathered about 34 subscribers in that time period. Started taking this channel a little more seriously in November and within 2 weeks that 34 turned to 100 subscribers. In a couple more weeks I hit 500 subscribers. Not doing this for the money but it is interesting seeing your journey. Love love this video 😁

[Yellowlab_NC_Outdoors]

This is fantastic, I’ve often wondered what it looks like to be monetized in those early days. You’ve basically just described my story starting from nothing and organically trying to grow a channel just doing the things I enjoy. I’ve met all requirements except for 1000 subscribers, I am getting discouraged because I already have two other jobs and this does take time.

[lizziehutchins]

Thanks for making this! I've struggled with how to grow. It's so tough balancing my full-time job and creative aspirations at the same time. Excited to keep seeing your future content!

[GinaLay]

Congratulations! This is a great video! Thanks for sharing your journey!

[walkinginhongkong]

Your video was the first video I watched when I embarked on my youtube journey Alexis. thanks for this video! ❤

if you're a small youtuber like me hoping to get monetized, JUST KEEP GRINDING! With consistencey and the drive to continuosly improve your content, YOU WILL GET MONETIZED one day. And I'm speaking from experience, I recently just reached 1000 subs and 4000 watch hours and it took me 94 days, 16 long-form videos, 81 shorts and an infinite amount of determination to achieve that. SO KEEP PUSHING! Our journeys will be different but it will all be worth it. Goodluck!