- Macy Schmidt is a YouTube creator making videos about her life in Las Vegas.
- Schmidt posted her first YouTube video in 2020 and now has around 50,000 subscribers.
- She spoke to Insider about how much money she makes monthly from ads on YouTube.
- Check out Insider’s business page for more stories.
This is the latest edition from Insider’s Creator Money Logswhere creators on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok break down how much they’re making.
When Macy Schmidt was fired from her job as a customer service specialist in late 2020 due to the pandemic, she decided to try turning her vlog-style YouTube channel into a full-time gig.
Back then, YouTube was more of a side business and it had around 30,000 subscribers, according to data from Social Blade. Now her channel has grown to around 50,000 subscribers, and she posts new videos every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Her most popular videos feature her boyfriend, YouTube star Graham Stephan (3 million subscribers). For example one from Stephan who reacts to himself in
Netflix
‘s “Selling Sunset” has increased 284,000 views. The occasional personal finance advisory videos work well too, including the popular explanation of how she saved $ 100,000 by the age of 22 (200,000 views).
Schmidt credits Stephan for helping her get started on YouTube.
“It never clicked for me that I wanted to do YouTube until I met my current boyfriend and he had a YouTube channel,” Schmidt, 22, told Insider.
Stephan, known for his real estate and personal finance videos, has made his YouTube channel a lucrative career. He told Insider last year that his channel made $ 141,000 in a single month from ads placed by Google alone.
Ads are also one of Schmidt’s main sources of income.
YouTube’s core monetization metric for measuring this ad revenue is known as revenue per mille (RPM). The rate shows how much a YouTuber makes per 1,000 video views (after cutting YouTube by 45%). Schmidt’s average speed is around $ 7, she said. This rate is low compared to some other YouTubers as their channel’s newest videos are and usually are vlogs and reaction videos Advertisers on YouTube pay more for business or finance-related content.
Schmidt decoded how much she had earned in 2021 with ads on YouTube, which Insider verified with the documents she provided:
- January: $ 1,418
- February: $ 3,523
- March: $ 2,515
- April: $ 1,766
- May: $ 2,087
- June: $ 1,909
- July: $ 1,366
Schmidt’s two main sources of income as a creator are brand sponsorship and advertising from the partner program. On average, she works with about one or two brands a month and charges between $ 500 and $ 800 for a single deal, which insiders verified with documentation she provided.
Macy Schmidt and her friend, YouTube inventor Graham Stephan.
Screenshot from YouTube / Savannah Smiles
How much time she spends creating weekly videos for YouTube
Schmidt posts three 12- to 18-minute videos a week. On average, she spends about two to three hours planning what to say, 45 minutes to an hour filming, and about six to 14 hours editing, she said.
“I think I spend most of the time editing,” said Schmidt. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and sometimes I sit there and keep optimizing, so it can take a while.”
She also spends time reviewing branded emails. She likes to research any company that reaches out to her to make sure it’s something she wants her name to be associated with.
“There is definitely a lot more administrative work involved, and when dealing with sponsors, you usually have to go through several rounds of revisions, which can include remakes or reworks,” Schmidt said.
But the hardest part about starting a channel? Posted the first video, said Schmidt.
“Because you want it to be perfect, but your editing skills are not that good and filming will be difficult because it will feel uncomfortable,” she said. “Once you’ve started, make a goal of posting once a month or a week and just stick with it.”