I joined YouTube in Oct 29, 2018 with zero views and zero subscribers.
I however started taking YouTube seriously sometimes in 2022, and got my fourth channel TravelwithEvaMtalii YouTube channel monetized in February 2021 about a year later.
44,700 subscribers and 5 more YouTube channels later, I have reaped some massive benefits – some expected, others unexpected – since starting my YouTube channel.
In today’s post therefore I share with you some of the Benefits of starting a YouTube channel in 2022.
What's Covered in This Article
Additional income stream
Life is too expensive to have only one income stream.
We are currently in a global world crisis.
Businesses are shutting down and people are losing jobs left right center.
Every one needs to have 6 months’ worth of expenses saved up in an easy to access place. Not many people do.
Starting a YouTube channel could be your first step into making passive income online and having that amount of money saved up.
Best of all, you don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of subscribers to make money on your YouTube channel.
In fact, as soon as you meet the 1,000 subscriber and 4,000 hours watch time in the last 365 days, you’re eligible for monetization. Thereafter, how much you make is dependent on your YouTube video views.
In my experience, most of those who view my videos aren’t even subscribed to it. That’s why in those early days when you’re still small and no one knows about you, you should focus on videos that people want and are already searching for: e.g. How to videos, etc.
While I have far from “made it” in terms of achieving my goals for making money through YouTube’s partner program, it was quite a breath of fresh air to get that e-mail from YouTube informing me that I’d been monetized.
This basically means that each time YouTube puts an advertisement on my YouTube videos and my viewers watch the video, Google pays me some amount.
In addition to Google ad sense revenue, YouTube has also opened other ways for me to make money through affiliate marketing, paid coaching, and my e-book sales.
Opportunity to learn new skills
By making videos month on month and posting on YouTube, I have learned skills that I didn’t even know that I needed.
Before launching my YouTube channel, I didn’t even know how to edit a video.
While I’m not yet a pro, I can do basic video editing.
I have also become a better public speaker and improved my confidence in front of the camera.
I remember when I shot my first video I could barely hold my head together and kept stuttering throughout the entire video. Interestingly, though that is my most embarrassing video, it has the most views and is the one video that quickly led me to monetization :).
87 videos a year and a half later, I still struggle with the awkwardness 🤞 but I have certainly become more confident having spoken to a universe of people that I don’t know, I have never met, and might never meet.
Oh my goodness, and I also acquired pitching skills and managed to convince 1,300 random people to subscribe to my channel ✨.
Free stuff
Influencer marketing is currently on fire 💥people! And unlike in the past, is beyond dispute.
Furthermore, it is finally beginning to dawn on businesses that having lots of followers isn’t the same as being an influencer.
This has created lots of opportunity for smaller YouTubers specialized in some niche and with an engaged audience as they are more capable of influencing their decisions.
Social media marketers are constantly digging through platforms such as YouTube looking for content creators that they can partner with.
But don’t wait for them to come if they ain’t coming.
Go out and look for them.
I’ve done it before.
As my Travel with EvaMtalii YouTube channel focuses on travel, working abroad, living abroad and studying abroad, I’ve been able to grow my audience to the point that I can approach travel brands for free tours and hotel accommodation in return for the exposure I bring to them through my channel and other social media platforms.
As you grow bigger, you get to negotiate for payments and not just exposure and the brands coming to you instead of going after them.
Starting a YouTube channel has steered me towards a minimalist mindset
The shift towards minimalism isn’t something that I’d envision when I started my YouTube journey.
But I’m glad YouTube steered me towards that direction.
In the desire to find an appropriate background to shoot my videos, I have been forced to keep my living room organized and bedroom tidied.
This journey has led me towards decluttering and only keeping that which I need to lead a fulfilled life.
Creative outlet
As someone who doesn’t watch TV, being a YouTuber has certainly given me something noble to do with the extra time saved up.
EvaMtalii YouTube channel has given me an outlet to spew my 20,000 words a day quota expected of me as a woman 🙂 .
Seriously though, while YouTube may be saturated, and it does seem so far fetched to start a successful channel YouTube in 2022 because everything you probably want to say has already said, I will stop you in your tracks by saying that while this may be true to some extent, no one has yet said it LIKE YOU would!
In my case for instance, YouTube gave me a platform to help people solve issues related to traveling on visas, getting remote jobs and online money making opportunities so as able afford the travel lifestyle, and of course motivation to pursue their dreams irrespective of age (through my violin and Kenya sign language videos).
Marketing tool
Through my EvaMtalii YouTube channel I have been able to drive traffic to my blog by creating awareness among my YouTube audience.
One of the best ways to maximize YouTube earnings is to start a blog to which you can drive your audience.
More website traffic = more money through various affiliate programs as you get a chance to monetize you YouTube videos as well as your blog.
YouTube has taught me how to take shade from people with sad lives
I’m not sure which is worse: spewing hate towards someone for no apparent reason when you don’t even know, or the hate comments themselves.
Well, having been on YouTube for a little over a year, I have developed a thick skin and learned to laugh off the haters.
As long as my conscience is clean, I will continue to live life on my own terms.
The haters can continue their keyboard wars while I make the darn money!
Well, that’s it for today in terms of how beneficial YouTube has been.
Your Turn
If you’re not yet a YouTuber, I hope this article cleared up any questions you had about starting a YouTube channel and convinced you start one!
Besides, YouTube is set up to be super easy to start. Like, all you need is a Gmail account and a camera (doesn’t have to be a DSLR camera).
With five billion YouTube videos watched every day, the YouTube platform gets over one billion+ visitors a month. So, if you’ve been wondering if it is worth to start a YouTube channel in 2022, the answer is YES.
Therefore, the secret to tapping into this traffic and making money from your videos is to create content that will keep them glued to your videos so that YouTube can sell more advertising = more money for you.
Start by creating well-crafted videos that people actually want to watch and won’t click away from, and the YouTube algorithms will align in your favor and start to promote your videos.
Furthermore, unlike in the past when there was just a handful of channels, today there are millions of YouTube channels and videos from which to learn.
Use them to your advantage.
Look for YouTubers in niches you admire who are doing videos in subjects you’re interested in. Learn from them, and do you.
