Can uploading a video to YouTube make you some serious money? According to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper, uploading videos online can not only become a great source of income, but become a whole new business.
And videos that make all this cash aren’t necessarily professional films. Incredibly, they are often nothing more than a home video you make of your children…
Take dad Howard Davies-Carr, who lives in the Thames Valley with his wife and four sons. His little video ‘Charlie bit my finger – again’ – an adorable piece on his video that he initially uploaded to the site simply to share with their godfather in the US – went viral. Since posting it in 2007, it has been viewed over 386 million times – and Howard now shares the revenue from ads that YouTube runs around it.
And he’s far from the only family to be cashing in.
The report relates the story of Jamie Hagan. Three years ago Jamie posted a video clip called ‘Jacob, get off the X-Box’ in which he tells his little brother to stop playing the game. He then caught his little brother’s outraged reaction and subsequent tantrum on film. And when the clip was forwarded to someone from an American TV channel, which ran it, viewing figures went through the roof. Jamie contacted YouTube and became a ‘partner’. Every time his videos are viewed 1000 times, he gets 60p. It doesn’t sound much money – but in fact Jamie estimates the clip has been viewed so much, he’s made around £40,000.
YouTube claims hundreds of people in the US are making similar sums of money. Incredibly, the site has now even developed an algorithm, which when you post your video will assess the chances of it becoming a hit. If there is enough interest and particularly if the site believes your film could go viral, it will contact the poster. Revenue from advertising placed around your clip will then be shared with you.
It must be said that only a tiny percentage of videos that are uploaded to the site get up to the required four or five million views – but according to a spokesman from YouTube who is quoted in the article – what all successful videos have in common is the speed at which they are shared.
Dad Howard, who says he is putting the money earned towards school fees, now has his own channel on the site. Every six weeks he posts a new video and even has a blog with updates on the family and where you can buy merchandise.
Have you made a great video of your children? Has your video on YouTube had lots of hits? Do let Sell Your Story UK know about it here – and even if it hasn’t had millions of hits (yet) we will feature it on this site.
