What 6 Million Views On YouTube Paid Me
With a faceless YouTube channel
Okay, it’s 5.9 million views right now. But still…
YouTube is a lucrative business for many. And a dream for even more. Here’s what you can achieve without any knowledge of making videos or ever showing your face on camera.
How
If you’ve spent any time on YouTube lately, you’ve probably seen faceless channels. Those are YouTube channels without anybody in front on the camera and more often than not without anyone speaking either. Unless it’s a AI-created voice.
My faceless YouTube channel just hit 5.9 million views.
Exciting, right?
But here’s the deal: You won’t believe the earnings from that.
The Numbers That’ll Make You Rethink YouTube
Before we dive deeper, let me throw a comparison at you.
Over here on Medium, where I also create content, a writer like me can average around $10 — $30 per 1000 views.
Quick math: Let’s take $20 per 1000 views for a quick calculation and we’ll see that 5.9 million views on Medium could have earned a jaw-dropping $118,000.
Not that this is really going to happen on Medium these days.
But YouTube? We’re looking at a very different story.
Behind the Scenes of a Faceless Channel
Again: “What’s a faceless channel?” you might ask.
It’s exactly what it sounds like — content without showing your face. Think satisfying compilation videos, gaming commentaries, or those oddly addictive AI-narrated stories that have taken over YouTube in 2024.
I now run three of those types of channels, and it’s been a wild ride.
The Real Revenue Breakdown
Let’s cut through the fluff and look at my actual earnings:
Total Views: 5.9 million
Total Earnings: $6,059
Years Active: 5
Average per 1000 views: $3–4
Feeling underwhelmed? You’re not alone.
Why So Low? The Truth Nobody Talks About
Here’s where things get interesting.
The journey to monetization in 2024 isn’t as straightforward as many claim. YouTube now offers multiple paths:
Traditional Route: 1000 subscribers + 4000 watch hours
Shorts Fast Track: 1000 subscribers + 10M Shorts views in 90 days
Sounds achievable? I don’t know. Maybe.
Here’s the catch — I hit almost 1 million views on one of my videos before I even qualified for monetization.
Those views? Worth exactly $0.
Talk about a missed opportunity.
The Niche Factor
Not all YouTube views are created equal.
While finance YouTubers brag about their $50+ CPM (cost per thousand views), my entertainment content brings in a humble $3–4 per 1000 views.
Or less.
Even in 2024, with all the platform updates and improvements, these rates haven’t changed dramatically.
What Nobody Tells You About Content Creation in 2024
The landscape has shifted dramatically.
AI tools have made faceless content creation more accessible than ever. Everybody and their grandmother is using ChatGPT to script videos, and AI voice-overs are becoming indistinguishable from human ones.
But here’s the thing — more accessibility means more competition. Standing out is harder than ever, even without showing your face.
The Platform Comparison That Changed My Mind
After five years on both platforms, I made more on Medium in my first year than I did in five years of YouTube.
By year two, my Medium earnings hit $15K, while my YouTube channel was still struggling to reach half that.
Now, Medium has slowed down a lot for me as well, but earnings have increased on other platforms, like Substack.
So, Is YouTube Worth It in 2024?
Yes, but with a massive asterisk.
YouTube remains the undisputed king of video content. Well, with TikTok very close behind.
The potential for massive success is there — we’ve all seen those viral sensations. But if you’re in it for quick money? You might want to rethink your strategy.
The Bottom Line
Here’s what I’ve learned: diversification is key.
While my YouTube journey might sound disappointing, it’s taught me invaluable lessons about content creation. Those almost 6 million views brought more than just monetary value — they brought experience, audience understanding, and opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
If you’re starting your content creation journey in 2024, here’s my advice:
Don’t put all your eggs in the YouTube basket
Start with written content (yes, Medium, Substack, Twitter, etc.) while building your YouTube presence
Focus on your niche and understand its monetization potential
Be prepared for the long game
What’s Next?
The content creation landscape keeps evolving.
With AI tools becoming more sophisticated and platforms constantly changing their algorithms, who knows what the next 5 million views will bring?