Teaching Instagram Reels on YouTube Turned Into Over $20,000 a Year in Ad Revenue
4 min read · RealCase summary
A creator building a YouTube channel around Reels tutorials earned just $28.76 in October 2019 and $48.44 in November 2019 before monetization requirements (1,000 subscribers, 4,000 watch hours) were even met, which took about three months. By February 2021 a single month brought in $723.81 from 107,000 views, and by March 2021 monthly revenue had crossed $1,300 (from 193,000 views) and stabilized above $1,500 a month with 10,000 subscribers.
The channel started unfocused, covering photography and business tips, before the creator noticed Instagram-related content performed best and doubled down on Reels tutorials after Reels launched in July 2020. Full-year 2021 revenue reached $20,263.21 from 2.6 million views; 2022 brought in $22,956.60 from 2.2 million views, with 82.2% of that income coming from skippable ads. The top individual videos in 2022 were a Reels tutorial ($4,680.66 from 550,000 views), a 2021 Reels tutorial ($4,586.41 from 326,000 views), and a Reels transitions tutorial ($3,421.42 from 433,000 views).
"It hasn't been explosive growth leading to this revenue, it's been slow and steady," the creator said.
Key takeaways
- ›Monetized in October 2019 with just 1,000 subscribers, earning under $50 combined in her first two months
- ›Pivoted her content focus to Instagram Reels tutorials in August 2020, which drove real growth
- ›Earned $20,263 in 2021 and $22,957 in 2022 from AdSense alone, reaching about 75,000 subscribers
Original source
Read the original (Stephanie Kase)
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