I've made several hundred dollars over the course of a few years from a simple how to video that has over 200,000 views. Guys like Hickok 45 (gun reviews) or Mark Crossfield (golf club reviews) must make a REAL good amount of money.
Monetizing is the correct word, as used by Google. Navigating their account setup is horrible IMO. In fact, I haven't seen a payment for a few months, so I need to go through the maze and see if I'm getting close or what. They pay when the balance gets to $100.
I have no control over ads. Google does whatever they do.
Mike, the bottom line is, make a video that people want to view. Sign up with Google and sign up for monetizing it. If enough people view it, eventually you get paid.
I just lucked into mine. Someone on a forum asked a question. I made a 47 second video to show them how I did what they were asking. Over time it got viewed a lot. I am no pro, but I would say, most youtubers talk WAY too much. Organize your thoughts, spend a little time editing if need be, and keep it short!
Edit: Looks like earnings are down, I think Youtube lowered the scale IIRC. For the past 365 days, I've accrued $90. Better than a kick in the head, but it's half or less of what I used to earn.
I had included a link to my video, but I notice in reading up on this at Youtube that linking to my video in social media violates their terms of service.
